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September Issue 2003
A Few Words From Down Under
A Collection of Collectors
by Judith McGrath
We have what are called art collectors' clubs in this town, three of them in fact. Each is very different in the way they operate yet all are founded on the same premise; to educate potential buyers to a level where they feel confident in purchasing contemporary art. Now, as an ex-art lecturer this sounds like an excellent idea. After all, anything that breaks down the barriers between the artwork and the audience has to be a good thing, right?
The object of these clubs is to introduce people to modern art in a manner that transforms them from befuddled appreciator to informed collector. They do this by providing informal evenings, usually in a gallery, where members sip wine, socialise with like minded art appreciators, chat with artists or gallery managers, hear informative talks by curators or educators, and enjoy intellectual and cultural stimulation. Along the way they learn which artists and styles are considered good investments. The only problem that I can see with this is how club members are learning only about the art preferences of each club's organizer while all other art forms and practitioners that do not fall within the particular parameters of the club, are dismissed as good but not really investment quality.
As noted above, we have three of these clubs in our fair city. One was started by an elite little group where entry is by invitation only; another is run by a commercial gallery and available to all comers; while the third originated with a collective of mid-career artists looking for support.
The Elite Club is flexible with its events
but rigid about who may participate. It commenced when a curator
of a prestigious private art collection gave a talk in an up-market
gallery to invited guests gleaned from the gallery's clientele.
It soon evolved into a private club where members are required
to; 1) attend a certain number of scheduled lecture evenings per
annum, 2) purchase at least one major art piece a year, and 3)
be able to validate their choice by noting its artistic and financial
significance at the Club's annual dinner and exhibition of members'
purchases night. Membership was initially limited to two years,
on the assumption that is sufficient time to become confident
enough to join the ranks of the "informed art collectors"
brigade. But turnover is minimal and seven years after its inception
most of the founding members continue to participate and screen
newcomers.
The more recently created Gallery Club uses membership fees
to assist its artist-in-residence program and purchase new works
from a select list of local artists, which go into a lottery draw.
An unlimited membership is opened each year and for their annual
fee members receive; 1) discounts on purchases made at the gallery,
2) access to the studio of the resident artist at appointed times,
3) invitations to informal evenings for informative talks, and
4) a chance to "win" one of the purchased artworks at
an annual gala night. The club is in its third year but numbers
are dwindling, a fourth year could be doubtful.
These two commercial collectors' clubs
grew from a concept formulated by an art collective about a dozen
years ago. Eight, forty-something, mid-career artists found their
market was being squeezed between the demand for work by the young
rising stars and the old established doyens. To survive they devised
a unique plan. The group sells "subscriptions" at a
set price to a limited number of "subscribers". The
total amount collected is sufficient to support one artist for
one year so s/he can concentrate totally on making art. At the
end of the year, each subscriber receives one original painting
and a folio of limited edition prints produced by the selected
artist. About six times during the year, subscribers are invited
to the artist's studio for either afternoon tea or a coffee evening,
to chat with the artist (and others in the collective), view and
discuss developing artwork, and generally socialise. At the end
of the year, at an informal get-together, subscribers receive
their art package and a new subscription list is opened with the
naming of the next artist recipient. Subscriptions are available
to anyone who can pay the amount, and close when monies pledged
equal projected expenses. Each one of the artists in the initial
collective has had their turn, now other mid-career artists are
being invited to participate.
In the beginning, the accusation "incestuous" was
thrown at this group's idea, and they agreed. After all, the reason
to start the subscription club was to help their friends, and
they did. It's not surprising that other, similarly motivated,
groups would evolve albeit toward slightly different ends. In
the beginning, the two offspring groups were accused of "commercialism"
and they agreed. They're in it for the money, they are business
people. Yet all three clubs provide satisfaction to their members,
who learn about the processes of making art, the workings of the
art world, and receive a proven investment as the artists whose
works are purchased are all well established practitioners.
On paper the collector club is seen as an ideal concept; in practice it an effective form of select promotion and selling where artists and galleries reap the benefits and fee paying members get value for money. All three art collectors' clubs are about nurturing informed art buyers in the hope of maintaining financial viability in the art world. Although two were motivated by commercial gains and the third as a survival tactic, all encourage cultural enrichment. I have no quarrel with any one of them; I just find it distressing the art world has been put in a position where they have to compete with chain stores and charities. Next it will be galleries and artists' collectives setting up call centres filled with young telemarketers making unsolicited phone calls at dinnertime.
Judith McGrath lives in Kalamunda,
Western Australia. She is a freelance writer and reviewer for
various art magazines in Australia. You can see more of her writing
on her website at (www.artseeninwa.com).
A collection of her articles which have appeared in
Carolina Arts can be found at (www.CarolinaArts.com).
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing
Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc.
Copyright© 2003 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston
Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts
from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts
Online, Copyright© 2003 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved
by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use
without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina
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