Buy from your heart–that was the gist of the message from several art collectors who spoke recently at a panel discussion hosted by the Houston Center for Photography. The event was part of the buildup to the organization’s annual print auction scheduled for Feb. 12 at the Junior League of Houston.
The print auction is an annual HCP event which allows artists, galleries, and collectors worldwide to contribute art that ultimately benefits the organization’s operating fund. The sales support the HCP’s mission, its exhibits, classes, outreach programs, and publications.
The recent collector’s panel included moderator Liz Anders, principal at Liz Anders & Associates; Joe Aker, an architectural photographer and owner of what may be the last studio that still processes film in Houston; Jereann Chaney, a fine art collector and HCP board president; and Frazier King, a collector, photographer, and curator.
Several themes were consistent throughout the talk. All panelists agreed that purchasing art is an affair of the heart; They buy a print because they expect to have a lasting emotional connection to it. There are no complicated financial formulas involved, no discounted cash flows, and no ratio comparisons when buying art. They purchase art because they hope to be inspired by looking at them on a daily basis, not because they expect some form of financial return when they sell them.
“I buy them because I just like them,” Joe said.
The panelists also generally agreed they were unimpressed with a print only because it is part of a “limited edition” serial print. This is the practice of numbering prints, ostensibly to restrict supply and boost the value of each individual print. This practice, by itself, lends nothing to the intrinsic value of the print, the panel said.
Purchasing art from aspiring artists is a bit of a gamble. You may end up with something that is worthless in 10 years (or less), or (in a few cases), end up with a gem in the rough that could appreciate tenfold over the next decade. Given that a collector may never know, the best practice is to buy for the effect the image has on a viewer. Again: buy from the heart.
The panelists also agreed it was important to donate work to museums or public charity auctions so that others can enjoy them. “It really is important to share your art with other people,” Joe said.
The panel also seemed to agree that process was irrelevant. They were not impressed with a given print because it came from ziclee, silver gelatin, platinum palladium or some other process. In the end, it’s the final effect on a viewer that mattered to them, not the material on which it is printed or the process used to generate it.
Finally, the panel seemed to agree that collecting art is a little like having children in that they had trouble naming an all-time favorite piece. They loved them all and were very hesitant to pick out a specific favorite.
Landscape photographer Robert Adams, in his book Why People Photograph, said their was a natural tension between artists and collectors, but each needed the other. For collectors, art is a little like food; it is something absolutely essential for their life. Artists, whether they know it or not, depend on collectors for a living. It’s both a conflicted and mutually self sustaining relationship.