C108 Article

Collectors and Collecting

collect - verb 1 trans., intrans. to bring or come together; to gather; to accumulate. 2 to build up an assortment of (things of a particular type) out of enthusiasm for them: collect stamps

My first collection was swap cards. I was a voracious collector; I rapidly expanded just a handful of cards into a collection numbering several hundred. Lunchtime was a schoolyard frenzy of cards changing hands. Ostensibly innocuous objects took on great value - an early lesson in economics. I became insatiable to find that elusive and defining card (I think it was one of the Muppets), to have the best swap-card collection in the school. My treasure trove was stored in a plastic garbage bag at the bottom of my locker. But the fame of the collection was my undoing and the entire collection was stolen.

Many feel the urge to collect. This is often initially governed by an aesthetic appeal, sometimes becoming dominated by perceived worth as the collection appreciates in value. The art collector, in many ways like the average stamp collector, is developing a passion to create a complete collection. And although the motives may differ, collecting ranges from a harmless hobby to borderline compulsive disorder. Why do we collect? Does the act of collecting an individual object represent a significant memory or event to the collector? Are collectors better able to define themselves through their collection?

While the fundamentals of collecting have not changed much over the years, it is important to examine its contemporary context. This issue broadly surveys collecting art: how an individual might start a collection through to caring for a public collection. What can be an individual's life-time pursuit may end up in a public collections where it becomes a part of the national patrimony.

Liz Aders