{"id":11086,"date":"2021-12-29T07:42:17","date_gmt":"2021-12-29T07:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/media-archive.blackartinamerica.com\/?p=11086"},"modified":"2022-01-13T13:12:10","modified_gmt":"2022-01-13T13:12:10","slug":"what-is-a-real-art-collector-are-you-one-by-debra-hand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/earthexhibitions.org\/media-archive\/?p=11086","title":{"rendered":"“What is a ‘Real’ Art Collector? Are You One?” by Debra Hand"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

“What is a ‘Real’ Art Collector? Are You One?” by Debra Hand<\/h2>\r\n
by Debra Hand<\/pre>\r\n
When a Black art collector says to me, \u201cI\u2019m not really a \u2018collector.\u2019 I just buy what I like,\u201d I try to shift their mindset before our conversation ends. The power of the collector is great, but none of us can use a power to its maximum effect if we don\u2019t know it exists.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n
So this article is for the collectors who aren\u2019t sure they are collectors yet, or are wondering what a \u201creal\u201d collector is\u2014 especially if you are buying Black art, since Black artists need the power of collectors more than ever now.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n
If you are purchasing original art by Black artists, that alone makes you a collector.\u00a0 It makes you a collector just as valid as those collecting antiquities from the Ming Dynasty. Your story, and that of your cultural group, should be just as important to you<\/u> as that of any other cultural group.\u00a0 After all, your story is the one story where you are the lead character, and where your existence is being carried out in real time. And if the way you assemble and reflect that story is through Black art, then you are archiving an important narrative. So, make no mistake, when you begin to purchase multiple pieces of original art, you have become a collector. Now what you choose to do with that archive is another topic.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n
You can keep your art at home where only you can enjoy it, or you can build on your collection with the intention of one day sharing it publicly, or even creating a museum. Naturally, it\u2019s up to you. But if you plan to share your collection publicly, then you will probably have to concern yourself with what might excite public interests.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n
For example, it could be the case that your story, or your family\u2019s story alone\u2014along with the art you\u2019ve chosen to reflect it\u2014already intrigues the public. If Oprah were ever to exhibit her collection of Black art, people would surely line up to see it, just because it\u2019s hers. They know she champions Black history, so they\u2019d know to look forward to an informative experience.\u00a0 Having been a collector of Stringfellow\u2019s work, if she still owns it, they would be able to see beautiful collages with Black dignity as the theme (or similar subjects).<\/p>\r\n
In fact, many celebrities and television shows are associated with increasing interest in Black art. In the past, I\u2019ve written about Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys, as well as Jay-Z as collectors, to name a few, but television plays its part as well.\u00a0 Throughout the run of Empire<\/em>, African-American art was a silent character in most scenes, the producers taking an even more aggressive approach to showcasing Black artists.<\/p>\r\n
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“Recession Girl”<\/a> by Zoya Taylor | 36″ x 29″ oil on linen canvas \u2014 unframed | ShopBAIA.com<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n
But, to become a \u201creal\u201d collector, a person doesn\u2019t have to be widely known or own 100 works of art. Consider someone who has purchased three pieces of original art by Black artists and still doesn\u2019t think of themselves as a \u201creal\u201d collector. Here\u2019s something to consider:<\/p>\r\n
If you own a work of art by three different artists, that is three stories and legacies that you have now intersected with your own.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\r\n
And whether you choose to or not, you have gathered together the materials for the potential narrating of four lives: the lives of three artists plus your own. You have the power and potential to look into how these four lives might be cross-indexed to depict an even larger story.\u00a0Let\u2019s say you\u2019re that collector, and you own three pieces that reflect three very different themes. One painting you own is of a gospel singer, one is of a man picking cotton, and one is an abstract painting dominated by the color indigo. These pieces touched your heart when you first saw them exhibited because your grandmother sang in church, her parents were sharecroppers, and your favorite color is indigo because that was the color of your great-grandparent\u2019s home. These things appear to have no relation to each other, and you could live happily ever after enjoying your three pieces of art without thinking of them as anything more than just paintings you enjoy.<\/p>\r\n
But, if you choose to do so, you could also investigate further, starting with your own story. You could ask your grandmother about singing in the choir and learn her family history with the church. What led her family there? Who else sang in your family, and how did music become so important in their household? Going back through the generations, as these stories tend to do quickly, you will likely be led back to and through the days of Black sharecroppers and reveal more about your grandfather and his parents\u2014stories of how his parents transitioned your family from slavery through the piecemeal survival mechanisms of sharecropping, or other forms of labor. Suddenly, you know even more about the activities that eventually led to your life\u2019s circumstances, and even led indirectly to the degree now hanging on your wall.<\/p>\r\n
Maybe it was your great-grandfather who first pushed the concept of higher education in your family so that your generation would never know the hard labor of a cotton field. Your painting with indigo dominating seems unrelated to any of these stories, however, maybe it first attracted you because it was the color of the house your grandparents lived in. Looking deeper, you may learn the history of indigo dye and its connection to slavery, along with its dual mythological history and function as a protective force in the Gullah Geechee culture. Now you learn that the artist’s grandparents were of this culture and migrated North during the Great Migration.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n
The point is: The artists who painted these pictures also have their own stories and histories that may, or may not, tie directly into yours but will likely contain parallels to yours, especially since their families had to also make their ways through the turmoil of being Black in America.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n
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“Led by God”<\/a> by Wendy Kendrick | 24″ x 67,” fabric, machine and hand stitched quilt \u2014 unframed | ShopBAIA.com<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n
I encourage everyone who buys original art, especially multiple pieces, to think of themselves as collectors and as the keepers of the stories that accompany those pieces, particularly their own. Even if the artist says, \u201cI created the work because I felt like it and nothing more,\u201d there still is a reason why you bought those works; that story has value.\u00a0Most artists, however, will indeed have a story to tell about how they became artists, even if not a story about the art itself. Those stories will always involve other people\u2014people who believed in them and encouraged them; people who didn\u2019t believe in them and thought they were wasting their time; or even stories about why they think it\u2019s important to create art, especially as it relates to participating in culture.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n
Most artists I know create first and foremost to help nourish others in some way; whether it is through sharing stories, relaying information, taking a stand, or sharing beauty\u2014all of which are noble reasons to create. When I first became an artist, a surgeon purchased my work at a black-tie auction. They were determined to win the bid, and they did. It pleased me to know that someone tasked throughout the day with saving lives might find refuge in my work when they relaxed in their home. Surgeons need mental health balancing activities to help relieve the trauma they face daily. I like knowing that one of my sculptures is serving someone in this way. Most artists I know want to know that their work is loved and appreciated by those who acquire it, regardless of the subject matter.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n
So the next time you\u2019re at an exhibit, rather than to ask the artist, \u201cHow long did it take you to make that?\u201d (a question which many artists find mundane) ask the artists things like:<\/p>\r\n