| NEW YORK N.Y. DECEMBER 2009 (REVISED) "A Discussion Regarding Collecting Art" by Elizabeth Jean Billups Why does any one buy original art? Why not just purchase prints, and copies? It is not because I am a creator of fine art. It is not because there is a profit in fine art. There is something that is intuitive, something that original art has, that it possesses, or perhaps that it EMITS, that it gives to those who are sensitive to the energy that original art radiates... something below the surface, almost spiritual! I always felt the energy from original art, as I passed by it, be it in a museum, a gallery, in a hotel, or a home. I never quite understood this, until I spent the night in a B&B, where I was the only person present. As I walked thru each room, observing the antiques and the art on the walls, I felt an unusual feeling, in the rooms where there were original paintings hanging, verses the rooms with just prints. There was an energy, a feeling of something DEEPER, that I could not quite understand. There have been other times, viewing original art, where I have had a deeper feeling, regarding the art viewed. They can be small, and by unknown artists, and touch my very soul, and others by perhaps well known national artists, that are so familiar, almost to the point of boring, because it appears so very similar to all the other pieces they have created. They have a feeling of shallowness, of non-adventure, of someone who has spent precious time making some art form that perhaps is 100% SAFE...because they KNOW, there will be a market for the work! But in so doing they loose the adventure of discovery, in order to make sure it will be accepted and sell! |
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About the only thing that is more
wasteful than copying another artist creation, is to copy
your own discoveries! That is not to say, that a person has to constantly swap horses, to
constantly be different, for different sake...but to dive into an adventure, falling if need be,
looking foolish possibly to others, if one can discover another nook, or cranny... to open another
door.
THIS IS NOT TO SAY, to discover new adventures requires using mind altering drugs, but to grab deep within oneself, to find the joy and adventure of discovering hidden treasures, and to learn how to express this to the world, to share this treasure with others, in a new and refreshing manner!
What is the purpose or need for owning fine art?
Primarily to feed the soul! The soul is not only feed by spiritual readings and understandings, by human touch, music, poetry... it is also touched by the beauty of a sunset, the sweep of a cloud across a deep cobalt sky. And often times, the mundane elements of Life, have tremendous beauty in the nuances that embrace her!
If these things can be captured thru the brush of an artist, to open a door of understanding for a people sometimes too busy to look at the haze on a hillside, or the soft lost glow of afternoon sunshine, as it readies itself for evening, then truly the artist has given a great gift to a people almost blinded by their daily mundane experiences.
THIS IS NOT TO SAY, to discover new adventures requires using mind altering drugs, but to grab deep within oneself, to find the joy and adventure of discovering hidden treasures, and to learn how to express this to the world, to share this treasure with others, in a new and refreshing manner!
What is the purpose or need for owning fine art?
Primarily to feed the soul! The soul is not only feed by spiritual readings and understandings, by human touch, music, poetry... it is also touched by the beauty of a sunset, the sweep of a cloud across a deep cobalt sky. And often times, the mundane elements of Life, have tremendous beauty in the nuances that embrace her!
If these things can be captured thru the brush of an artist, to open a door of understanding for a people sometimes too busy to look at the haze on a hillside, or the soft lost glow of afternoon sunshine, as it readies itself for evening, then truly the artist has given a great gift to a people almost blinded by their daily mundane experiences.
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Creation should come from a sense of ADVENTURE! Reaching beyond what they KNOW they can create,
in order to discover something that maybe has never been expressed before! Thus, creating a true
ORIGINAL!
What are the primary reasons for making purchases of any kind? Investment? Survival? (Probably not with art, at least for physical survival). Enjoyment? That about covers it, for the surface or primary level!
One reason can merely be the physical investment...so that if and when any artist might become well known, or grow in reputation, than the moneys spent can bring back 10 FOLD. Well, that is the business end of collecting art. However, it may or may not bring FULL satisfaction!
There is perhaps a deeper reason, and a more fulfilling purpose: purchasing art out of pure enjoyment! Some art is not only food for thought, but many can actually feed the very soul, can become a spiritual banquet! Some can touch the inner thoughts of longing, of past dreams, of lost feelings that Life all too often steals from us, as we forage along our paths of survival!
Or maybe it brings the wilderness into our homes in over crowded cities! And thus acts as some sort of reprieve, or salvation, from our challenging daily existence!
SURVIVAL, what does this involve? Is it merely physical, or could it also apply to inner spiritual and mental survival/ health?
ENJOYMENT, is this for short or long term? Does it apply again, to physical, mental or spiritual?
INVESTMENT, comes in all forms: stocks, gold, real estate, art.
Then there is a psychological level: to feel good, to impress others? What is the difference in purchasing any commercial item vs purchasing an original piece of fine
art? We call it FINE ART, because why? Is it FINER than other objects purchased? Or is there
something else that should be taken into consideration?
Stocks usually set in safety deposit boxes, property and homes need constant attention.
It seems that the visual arts, if not tucked away into some vault some where for safe keeping, can also bring FOOD FOR THOUGHT or NOURISHMENT FOR THE SOUL?!
With technology today, over population, stress from success or failure on a daily basis, which would be of the greatest value, to mankind's SANITY: PROFIT, or A RENEWAL OF AN INNER SPIRITUALITY?
If the inner person, or their soul, can be refreshed and revived from the harshness of daily living, so that the following day at work, helps each of us become our best, our strongest, our most creative... then really, which should be the major reason to buy art?
What are the primary reasons for making purchases of any kind? Investment? Survival? (Probably not with art, at least for physical survival). Enjoyment? That about covers it, for the surface or primary level!
One reason can merely be the physical investment...so that if and when any artist might become well known, or grow in reputation, than the moneys spent can bring back 10 FOLD. Well, that is the business end of collecting art. However, it may or may not bring FULL satisfaction!
There is perhaps a deeper reason, and a more fulfilling purpose: purchasing art out of pure enjoyment! Some art is not only food for thought, but many can actually feed the very soul, can become a spiritual banquet! Some can touch the inner thoughts of longing, of past dreams, of lost feelings that Life all too often steals from us, as we forage along our paths of survival!
Or maybe it brings the wilderness into our homes in over crowded cities! And thus acts as some sort of reprieve, or salvation, from our challenging daily existence!
ENJOYMENT, is this for short or long term? Does it apply again, to physical, mental or spiritual?
INVESTMENT, comes in all forms: stocks, gold, real estate, art.
Stocks usually set in safety deposit boxes, property and homes need constant attention.
It seems that the visual arts, if not tucked away into some vault some where for safe keeping, can also bring FOOD FOR THOUGHT or NOURISHMENT FOR THE SOUL?!
With technology today, over population, stress from success or failure on a daily basis, which would be of the greatest value, to mankind's SANITY: PROFIT, or A RENEWAL OF AN INNER SPIRITUALITY?
If the inner person, or their soul, can be refreshed and revived from the harshness of daily living, so that the following day at work, helps each of us become our best, our strongest, our most creative... then really, which should be the major reason to buy art?
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...to each person:
TO THEIR OWN SELF BE TRUE!