APHRODITE WILL OUTLIVE DAMIEN HIRST --I GUARANTEE IT!

At some point, both artists and collectors are faced with the tidal wave of trend. FASHION is alluring but fickle.  STYLE innate and enduring.  Decisions need to be made. Experimentation brings clarity.  Clarity brings commitment and commitment, MASTERY.  The strongest collections (or oeuvres) communicate a SINGULARITY of vision.  

Collecting contemporary art in particular poses a bit of a CONUNDRUM.  Many high profile artists have rejected traditional notions of BEAUTY in favor of ORIGINALITY.  Ambitious young artists have followed.  The thing is that after 40,000 years of homo sapiens expressing their creativity, true originality is rare.  Instead we art lovers are faced with a barrage of “ugly” works that are incredibly self referential and hard to access.  Damien Hirst's "The physical impossibility of death in the mind of someone living"Dangling electrical cords meant to evoke emotional suffering, unmade beds to remind us of random sexual escapades, various animals floating in formaldehyde, add clever idea here.

Thanks to Marcel Duchamp, who famously submitted a urinal entitled, FOUNTAIN, to an art fair in 1917, the notion that anything can be art has been in vogue. Can a raw IDEA be ART?   Would it surprise you that after kicking off conceptual art, Duchamp retired from the art world in favor of playing chess.  Humm, a player indeed….

Art doesn't need to be EASY, or pleasurable or even comfortable.  However, if we desire art to be transformative, it has to resonate emotionally.  We need access to the artist's intention. (Think of how your favorite movie or lyrics make you feel.)  I enthusiastically champion clever but not ugly or self absorbed.  I believe in BEAUTY + MEANING.   Fashionable?  Maybe not. Enduring.  ABSOLUTELY.   Aphrodite will outlive Damien Hirst’s stuffed shark I guarantee it. 

BEAUTY has endured in every single culture from the beginning of time because humans LONG for it.  Nothing jolts us out of our daily worries like beauty. An encounter with beauty is a magical experience, like falling in LOVE.   Sandro Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" We can’t transcend human suffering without beauty, which REDEEMS us over and over again.  Ideas can be beautiful, take world peace or the end of cancer, but they are not ART without transcending the banal. Ugly adds nothing to a world full of it. The sacred AURA of beauty is wider and deeper than intellectual contests.

I boldly PREDICT the coolness of conceptual art will fade away along with hyper-consumerism.  MEANING is the new currency and everyone is looking for it.

In the words of another fine TRICKSTER, Oscar Wilde; “All art is absolutely useless. Put usefulness first and you lose. Put beauty first and what you do will be useful forever."

If you enjoy learning about the philosophical, spiritual and historic aspects of BEAUTY,  don't miss this provocative BBC documentary, BEAUTY MATTERS, hosted by academic Roger Scruton. 

 Your Venus ruled art advisor,

 

MARYNA

The ART of Collecting (and Living...)

I am often asked how I can tell if someone is a “real” art collector.    I imagine there are many answers to such a question.  Allow me to share mine. 

Who is a real art collector?  -- Someone who intentionally acquires that which inspires them.  

Becoming an art collector starts with developing a keen awareness of what delights you.   It is further cultivated by devoting time and resources to obtain it.  Collections reflect desire.   Collecting is about addition and subtraction.  It is also an opportunity to be a life-longer learner. 

Curious to see if art collecting is for you?  Try my guaranteed method.  

First, start paying attention to what grabs your EYE or stirs your SOUL.  Look around hotel lobbies, boutiques, offices, city streets and homes you visit.  What strikes you immediately?  What feels like it belongs to you?  Want to learn about visual harmony, elegant design and impeccable color composition?     Observe nature.  Walk through a park, looking up and around.  Take the scenic route home.   Do this for a few weeks and your taste will sharpen.  The more you train your eye to see BEAUTY, the more refined your choices become.  Preferences for patterns, shapes and color palettes will emerge organically.  Trust yourself.   Get closer to that which draws you, feel it with all your senses.   Stay in the right side of your brain.

Now explore the world of art.  Visit a museum.  Visually take in the exhibition in one QUICK glance.  Note what calls you.   Walk up closer and absorb the work, read the label.   Continue through the entire exhibition.  Go back to your starting place and see if the same works strike your fancy.   Narrow the works down to three.   Take your time.  Is there one artwork that stands out?   Mark the artist in your mind.  Absorb all information provided.    Let the image linger.

While a museum visit offers a contemplative experience, gallery openings provide much of the juice of art collecting, socializing.   Enter the left-brain.  Discussing art is part of the process.  Get COMFORTABLE with talking about your choices.  You have now developed a POV, test it out in public.  Share your insights, speak naturally about what moves you.   Learn from others.   Refine your orientation.  Balance your increasing knowledge with your visceral leanings.  Make it EASY.

My first art purchase! Lady by Anatoliy Kryvolap.Now gift yourself a work of art.   Find a local art fair, meander through online galleries, or check out an art school’s student exhibition.  Any budget will do.   Invite a friend or loved one and spend a Sunday afternoon searching for the one piece you simply can’t live without.   Take a RISK.  Buy it with great pleasure.  Think of the daily joy an original work of art will provide.  Consider the affirmation and economic boast you have just given the artist.  You have created a win-win.  The world is a BETTER place.

Once the art collecting bug bites, your appetite will likely expand in unpredictable ways.  Your life will never be the same.   You will want to discover more art, learn about history and culture.   Study methods and materials. A new worldview will emerge.  You will feel more ALIVE.  The habit of trusting your instinct strengthens.  Better decisions follow.   Life is expansive and happy.  This is my wish for you. 

Do you need an Art Advisor to start collecting art?  No!  Develop your taste.  Experiment.  Live with art daily. Stay true to your DESIRES.   When you reach the point when you need an Advisor to evaluate choices, make suggestions or refine your collection, you will know it.   THEN, you can invite me to see your collecting history and we will have a grand time taking the next step…  

See how easy art collecting is?  Now, GO and keep me posted!

MARYNA

The WORLD as treasure hunt...

I found this lush photograph of a shop in Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, taken circa 1870, while researching ancient markets at the Library of Congress.  This image enchants me every time I look at it.  I imagine myself walking through the shop, smelling incense, and hearing foreign languages as I search for new treasure.

The word that best captures my ethos of collecting art and cultural artifacts is DISCOVERY.   I simply cannot resist an opportunity to meander through galleries, museums, bazaars, artisan workshops or even the busy streets of cosmopolitan cities in search of beauty.   I am inspired by the search itself and delight in each discovery.   How do I know I found something magnificent?   Perhaps Anatole France said it best::

"In ART as in LOVE, instinct is enough". 

With wonder,

Maryna