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| The Art of Collecting Contemporary Art Norbert Weber, Curator | |
| Collecting - when we reflect on it, we can't avoid contemplating the dubious nature of this activity. Otto Rank, one of the closest confidants and colleagues of Sigmund Freud, once came to a conclusion that the passion to collect is often aimed towards items which are indisputably connected with sexual symbols. German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin states in his work "Psychiatry - textbook for students and physicians", published in 1887, that the madness of collecting can be compared to proclivity for committing malicious arson and theft. Collecting worthless things, for example, locks of cut hair, is a frequent occurrence. "For some people the madness of collecting is motivated by a more reasonable aim, yet their passion for the process of collecting leads towards absolute lack of respect for everything else and, under certain circumstances, even leads to committing a crime." When artist Raffael Rheinsberg, who creates his art by collecting abandoned items and using them in installations, was once apprehended during taking away his found objects, he claimed the following: "An artist must also be a criminal!" Given the questionable background mentioned above, the collecting done by Asger Jorn, who can be considered to be the most significant Danish artist of the 20th century, is quite an innocent deed. When Jorn is asked what motivated him to start collecting works of Picasso, Jean Dubuffet, Jackson Pollock and Sam Francis already in the 1950s, his answer is as follows: "This small collection is rather a provocation than a manifestation of my gratitude for the art life in Denmark. "When" and "why" are questions to be answered by each art devotee himself. The works I collect remind me of my time. Time will show whether they will turn out to be something more than a reminder." | |
 Raffael Rheinsberg. "H1 - H45", 1991, fire hydrant coverings, objects found in East-Berlin, collection of MUMOK (Museum Modern Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien) | |
| Likewise, in the late 1950s private collector Helmut Klinker in Bochum also began acquiring art. Part of that collection, including significant early works of Joseph Beuys, is located in the Bochum Art Museum. In an interview with Peter Spielmann, former director of the museum, Klinker describes his relationship with Beuys, who is considered worldwide to be one of the most significant artists of the 20th century. He says, "I made my acquaintance with Joseph Beuys in 1960, thanks to a gallery owner Alfred Schmela. I had already acquired several works by Antoni Tapies, Jean Tinguely and Yves Klein at his gallery. Beuys was a rather unknown artist at that time. I bought his works after an auction organised by Schmela's gallery. Nobody wanted Beuys' works. ... For me, collecting is a lively activity that involves continuous excitement."
It is noteworthy that both collectors attribute their success to qualities that are characteristic mostly to artists, namely, enthusiasm, boldness, spontaneity, inspiration and provocation, as opposed to focussing on value of artwork, representational qualities and good taste. Outside the professional circles, in 1950s, artists, such as Picasso and Beuys, were considered to be madmen or charlatans. Due to Jorn's and Klinker's open, passionate and well-informed approach towards art that their contemporaries did not consider to be beautiful, the two collectors came to realise that the artwork of artists mentioned above is worth collecting. Asger Jorn made use of the opportunities of his frequent visits to Paris, which, along with New York, was one of the most significant art metropolises. Yet an ordinary collector rarely has personal contacts with internationally significant artists. Therefore, a better example of success in collecting contemporary art is progress of Helmut Klinker, owner of gear wheels factory. Klinker's passion for collecting was closely connected with Alfred Schmela's gallery. Schmela studied in a private painting school in the early 1950s, and in 1957 he rented a room of 14 square metres with a display window in Düsseldorf's old town, to open a gallery. On the opening day the works of French artist Yves Klein were exhibited. It was followed by exhibitions of Karel Appel, Jean Dubuffet, Ben Fautrier, Sam Francis, Franz Kline, René Magritte, Jackson Pollock and Antoni Tàpies. Artist Arman, whom Schmela first met at Yves Klein's studio, exhibited his work "Poubelles und Accumulations" in Düsseldorf in 1960, which was described as a "waste dump" in newspaper "Berliner Zeitung". This gallery, which had become an "insider tip" in the European thriving art circles, provided exactly what Helmut Klinker was looking for in art - excitement and liveliness. His excellent collection was expanding as a result of common vision by two enthusiasts - on the one hand, gallery owner Schmela, a pioneer of the avant-garde with superb intuition about the best artists, and, on the other hand, gear wheels factory owner Klinker from Bochum, who welcomed the advice, allowed himself to be enthused and did not doubt his choices when the conservative press criticised Schmela's exhibitions. If a Latvian collector wished to follow Klinker's example today, he would not succeed in Riga. There are no galleries that focus on ex-hibiting works of the most significant foreign contemporary artists. I mean artists like Rachel Witheread, Pipilotti Rist, Douglas Gordon, Luc Tuymans, Thomas Ruff, Matthew Barney, Olafur Eliasson, Vanessa Beecroft, Neo Rauch, Santiago Sierra or Carsten Höller. In the context of the arts in Latvia, that is a phenomenon, as contemporary performing arts, music and literature of worldwide origin are available. For example, a visit to Jānis Roze bookstore reveals that books by internationally significant authors, such as Milan Kundera, Elfriede Jelinek, Peter Høeg, Salman Rushdie, Paulo Coelho, Michael Cunningham and Hanif Kureishi, are available. Books by young authors, such as Monica Ali and David Bezmozgi, are also available. The problem lies in the distribution chain, whereby works usually pass from the writing desk or artist's studio to the audience through an agent. Literature is being distributed by publishing houses, such as "Atēna", and they do a good job for the benefit of foreign authors and Latvian readers. Meanwhile, the distributors of visual arts - galleries - mostly exhibit works of local artists. It is undoubtedly good art, yet there is lack of comparison and contrast with international art. The limited offer appears to be comfortable, albeit provincial. It can be com-pared to a hockey tournament without teams from Canada, Czech Republic, USA or Russia. I don't know to what extent the Latvian art audience is aware of this deficiency, but I do know that the best Latvian artists are not content with this situation and are happy to use the opportunities to compete with their respective foreign colleagues. For example, Inta Ruka's works are exhibited at "Baukunst" gallery in Cologne, along with works of Noritoshi Hirakawa, Catherine Lee and François Morellet. Katrīna Neiburga's video work "Solitude" has recently been acquired by "KIASMA", the Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki, where it is exhibited alongside videos of Eija-Liisa Ahtila, John Baldessari and Gary Hill. Last but not least, I would like to mention Evelīna Deičmane and Miks Mitrēvics, two Latvian participants of "Manifesta 7" - the most significant art biennial for young artists. The works of both Latvian artists were available in Rovereto next to works by artists from other countries. Given this context, I must quote valuable critique by Luca di Blasi, published on July 24, 2008 in "Zeit", the most significant weekly newspaper in Germany covering culture issues (its audience is half a million academically educated readers): "Miks Mitrēvics has photographed people that attracted his attention on the street, and turned them into characters in suggestive staging. (...) The process and the effective result are exposed simultaneously, and it's done in such casually touching manner that it makes some of works by Olafur Eliasson look cold. Perhaps this melancholic minimalism can eventually turn out to be the discovery of "Manifesta 7"." Collectors have to practice patience, as the artwork by Miks Mitrēvics' cannot be found in any Latvian galleries. Up to now, none of Riga's art galleries have exhibited his works for sale. The best ad-vice for Mitrēvics would be to wait until a Latvian gallery offers an exhibition of international scale, a context that he deserves according to international art critics. What should collectors do until then? Collectors must be agile, both in terms of thinking and mobility. An opportunity to acquire Miks Mitrēvics' works will be offered not very far from Riga, when "Leto", a Warsaw art gallery, will exhibit his works in the art fair "ArtVilnius '09", taking place 8-12 July, 2009. Art fairs are a must for collectors. Here you can find galleries from all around the world in one place. It is a real treasure trove. The most important art fairs are Armory Show in New York (4-9 March 2009), Art Cologne (22-26 April 2009), Art Basel (taking place early June every other year simultaneously with the opening of the Venice biennial), Art Forum Berlin (24-27 September 2009), Frieze Art Fair in London (15-18 October 2009) and FIAC in Paris (22-25 October 2009). There are also special fairs, for example, Paris Photo (19-22 November 2009), and, along with large art fairs, there are smaller fairs intended for young artists, for example, Liste Basel Young Art Fair or Tease Art Fair, which takes place at the same time as Art Cologne. Contrary to industrial fairs, art fairs are open to general public, and visitors can purchase artwork right away. Exhibitions of international significance are "documenta" in Kassel and several international biennials - for example, the Venice biennial, and the above-mentioned "Manifesta" which takes place every second year in several locations, as well as biennials in Sao Paulo, Shanghai and Sydney. Collectors cannot purchase art in these exhibitions; however, they can obtain a lot of valuable information Those who do not wish to or cannot travel must read. Along with "Studija", there are a number of art magazines where art is presented not only by means of pictures, but also by means of reviews. Unfortunately it is almost impossible to purchase these magazines in Riga. The best approach is to buy a "test" issue or visit a homepage, and then subscribe to the most suitable magazine. Here is a brief list: "ArtForum" (www.artforum.com) - issued in English 11 times a year, includes exhibition announcements by galleries, interesting debates and articles about artists; "Frieze Magazine" (www.frieze.com) - issued in English 8 times a year, covers a wide range of subjects - from art to fashion, movies and design; "Parkett" (www.parkettart.com) - issued in English and German 3 times a year, offers sought-after editions of significant artists' works; "Texte zur Kunst" - issued in German 4 times a year, comprises controversial debates and articles by foreign authors; "Art Review" (www.artreview.com) - issued in English 11 times a year, provides information about art and art market, the October issue includes "Power 100" - a list of 100 most significant artists, collectors, museum directors and gallery owners. "Art Review" concludes our list of the periodicals containing art critique that helps collectors to form an opinion. Now I would like to look at some aspects of the market. After all, besides aesthetic value, a work of art also has material value. Charts and comparative assessments are useful for a collector only if it is clear what criteria are used. It must be mentioned that "Power 100" ranking in the "Artfacts" website (www.artfacts.net) is based on the success of an artist in various international galleries. It is also worth knowing that a sub-stantial share of "Artfacts'" revenue consists of advertising fees from galleries. On the contrary, the ranking published in "Kunstkompass", a supplement of the German business magazine "Manager Magazin", is based on a points system, which is largely determined by the presence of an artist's works in museums and biennials. What counts here, are the opinions of museum directors and exhibition curators, as opposed to opinions of art dealers. The magazine is financed by the sales and subscription revenues. If I had to give a good advice to a collector, I would recommend assessing the artwork's symbolic quality, rather than the price, i.e., never confusing the priceless with the expensive. Norbert Weber majored in art history, European ethnology and archaeology in Mainz and Kiel. In 1980 he founded NEMO, Gallery of Contemporary Art, today, a non-profit art space in Eckernförde. In 1988-98 he taught a course on career planning and development for art students at Muthesius Art Academy in Kiel. He has been curator of various museum exhibitions, e.g., in 1990 Open-Air Exhibition "Radar" in Kotka, Finland; in 1992 "14th Baltic Sea Biennial" at Rostock Art Hall; in 2008 "Time Will Show - Young Art from Latvia" at Museumsberg of Flensburg. Since 2000 he is custodian of Provinzial corporate collection in Kiel and since 2005 - member of the international experts' committee of the Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art. In 2008 he taught a course on digital art collection management at the Art History Institute of Christian Albrecht University at Kiel. /Translator into English: Jānis Aniņš/ | |
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