C108
Article
How to collect
You think you're ready to take the
collecting plunge, but you wonder where to start. CIRCA
interviewed Anya von Gösseln, long-time adviser to
many collectors, about the ways and means.
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Jacob Maendel: 37 22 15,
2003, stainless steel, 282 x 168 x 114 cm; photo /
courtesy the artist
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CIRCA:
We have asked you to talk to us about building a collection,
because you seem to us to be very well positioned to have
strong opinions on the topic. First off, though, could you
tell us what your background is, in terms of the collection
of or promotion of visual art and artists?
Anya
von Gösseln: I was born and educated in Germany
and grew up in a house where it was considered normal to
discuss art, music, politics and film in whichever way you
chose to express yourself, without censorship or restraint.
Part of my argumentative nature comes from this freedom,
I imagine. My father took me regularly on Sundays to visit
artists and / or galleries and museums. He was very often
able to help artists to pay off their debts and was given,
on many occasions, drawings or small paintings later by
the artists he had helped. He also bought work outright
afterwards from the same artists.
My father's attitude set the tone for
my own later on. This all happened in the then-small village
and artists' retreat of Worpswede, between Bremen and Hamburg.
My family travelled widely, very often with me, their only
child, and I was allowed to spend many summers alone with
my aunt in Paris, further adding fuel to my early 'obsession'
with art by what I saw there from the age of fifteen.
C: What about your own training
in art and collecting?
I have had no formal education
in art. Everything I know, I had to learn the hard (but
pleasurable) way myself on the job. I worked for roughly
eight years in New York, after graduating from Textile Engineering
College in the Rhineland. There I observed the art scene,
which my father assured me was a 'sleeping giant' but which
had the potential to become another Berlin (1930s Berlin,
he meant!). I took note of everything very carefully while
still attending to my day job in the fashion industry. It
was then, after a chance meeting with Andy Warhol, but also
with other artists and writers, and having seen some major
('blockbuster') shows at MoMA and at some very brave New
York galleries, that I made up my mind to become involved
actively in the promotion of contemporary art. Only then
it was not called 'contemporary', of course.
After returning to Europe I co-founded
Galerie de Gestlo in Bremen...
C: Why that name for the
gallery?
AvG: It's the Swedish version
of 'von Gösseln'. The gallery started off with a portfolio
by Salvador Dalí, and drawings by Picasso, which
to my amazement were sold on the second day. We became,
however, increasingly more courageous and decided to approach
some contemporary artists who did not seem to have a steady
representation yet. It was, unfortunately, a time when many
of the really big American artists had been snapped up by
the competition and we had to find some new ones ourselves,
and very fast. We did not have too much experience, but
we jumped into the cold water and travelled to New York
to look around and visit studios.
C: Why New York, rather than
looking in Germany?
AvG: I felt it was the centre
of the creative universe, and I still think so. De Gestlo's
first truly contemporary artist came, however, from Ireland,
though he was living in New York already. It was Les Levine
and the exhibition we did with him in 1971, Levine's
Restaurant, was a great success for the gallery
as well as for Les, who had only shown once before in Germany,
if I recall correctly.
One thing led to another. We moved
the gallery to Hamburg (which suited our collectors, who
found Bremen too boring to visit) and in 1972 we had four
of our artists represented at documenta in
Kassel (curated by Harry Szeeman), among them Duane Hanson.
During the Hamburg years (until 1978)
we were able to make inroads with the rather conservative
and careful Hamburg collector, who was not at that time
given to looking too benignly at anything produced later
than the 1950s. And we were able not only to sell to the
Hamburg Kunsthalle, but also to start to help build up at
least two major collections. One of them was the wonderful
minimalist collection of the late Klaus Lafrenz (some people
in Dublin will remember that I persuaded Mr Lafrenz to lend
a large part of this collection to IMMA in 1991 for a restricted
number of years; there was no money at the Museum at the
time for the purchase of work to full up the spaces meaningfully
with major work).
Since I had listened very carefully
to how my father talked with artists and how well he was
able to relate to them as well as to the gallerists / dealers,
I took a leaf out of his book and tried to emulate him.
My partner and myself had decided to divide 'duties' between
ourselves, and my particular brief was finding new collectors,
with the aim of carefully building collections which 'made
sense'. By that I mean that a good collection, as I understand
it, needs to contain largely only works which could, at
any given time, be turned over to a museum and that that
institution would react happily towards what they had been
given. In other words, we are talking about quality.
In 1979 the gallery moved to Cologne
and continued its work much in much the same way as in the
previous locations. We also - and that was extremely important
- were at the two major art fairs of that time, Cologne
and Basel, from the very beginning. This gave the gallery
tremendous access to a client base (museum directors, collectors,
artists as well) which would never have come about if one
had stayed in one's 'backyard' only, so to speak. The gallery
sold to the National Gallery in Berlin, Lehmbruck Museum,
the Museum in München-Gladbach, to almost every major
German institution and to Swiss, French, Belgian and American
ones as well, while building up four or five different collections,
or doing so partially, such as was the case with Charles
Saatchi, who became a regular buyer around 1975.
In 1983 I moved to Ireland on my own
and tried to work here in my chosen field...
C: Why the move to Ireland?
AvG: We owned a house here,
and I was (recently) single. It proved to be an almost impossible
situation for me to master (the art situation in Ireland
at the time), and I ended up as co-administrator for ROSC
1984, at the Guinness Hopstore. After this show,
economic gloom descended on Ireland and there were no jobs
whatsoever for me or anyone. I decided, however, to stay
and to put myself through an endurance test. I was able
to find the odd collector I could sell some of my own collection
to in order to survive (Warhol, Rauschenberg, Tapiès
works on paper). I curated small shows by young artists,
learned about framing, and received a diploma in China restoration
(just in case). I then worked for German artist Ulrich Rückriem,
who was availing of the tax situation for artists in Ireland
and who was involved with our gallery in Germany in one
way or another. This resulted in the Sculpture Shed at Huntington
Castle, Co. Wexford (not now an exhibition space for the
artist any longer).
For one and a half years I worked for
the Irish Crafts Council, north and south, and promoted
Irish design (furniture, fabrics, jewellery, and so on)
in Germany. In 1987 I co-curated the first-ever major German
/ Irish contemporary exhibition, featuring twenty-seven
artists (for example, Willie Doherty, Felim Egan, Walter
Dahn, Hanne Darboven, Thomas Schütte, Sigmar Polke,
Thomas Struth, among others). The exhibition travelled to
eight venues in Ireland and Germany.
From 1993 until 1997 I ran an 'experimental'
space above Makullas in Dublin which saw as its duty to
bring close to the (potential) Irish collection international
as well as Irish art. I did several exhibitions there which
were based on my long-standing relationship with the city
of New York, German contemporary art (Penck among others),
and numerous exhibitions by Irish artists I thought showed
potential (Paul Mosse, for instance).
In 1997 I decided that a gallery does
not necessarily need its own walls and I did, in
two successive years, partake in the now - sadly - defunct
Wall Street Art Fair in Downtown Manhattan (1997 and 1998).
Also, it had become glaringly apparent to me that the kind
of collector I was used to did not exist in Ireland
at the time...and still hardly does now.
I started to curate exhibitions in
Dublin (FreezeII at ArtHouse, with Alan Phelan
and Phil Collins among others; Karl Grimes' Still
Life at the Gallery of Photography, and so on) and,
finally, I was able to find a collector with an 'eye'
in the city itself. I have been advising this collector,
as well as one or two others, since that time. It is my
goal to build up the already-existing collections (up to
museum standard) and to curate as many shows for my own
artists, and those others I find interesting enough, as
I possibly can. I prefer, in most cases, unconventional
spaces (unfinished houses, warehouses, and so on) to do
these shows in, since that frees them from a certain repetitive
exhibition layout and will, in most cases, always be fresher-looking
and more removed from conventional restraint. I am not,
however, prone to decline a more 'normal' environment if
offered it occasionally!
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Kent Floeter: Drawing for installation
Venice, 2001, graphite,pencils on vellum,trace,tape,
32.5 x 90 cm; collection Garrett O'Hagan, Dublin;
photo Zindman / Freemont, NY; courtesy Anya von Gösseln
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CIRCA: How does a collector
go about starting a collection? Is there some system that
you've used in the past - guidelines that allow quality
control when buying a work of art? Are there preferred media,
preferred genres, etc? How does a collector know quality?
AvG: If you intend to become
a collector and build up your own collection you might want
to examine first your motives for doing so. That is, before
you engage in spending vast sums of money that could, possibly,
be spent on less esoteric pursuits - yachts, properties,
scuba-diving equipment, convertible cars, beer mats, for
instance. Your own motives and general attitudes will be
a determining factor in your future as a collector and subsequently
in the collection itself.
To specify a bit more, you could be,
for instance, a natural-born hoarder. This is a person
who is interested in the chase for a coveted item, who will
triumph at getting the work of his desire over all competition,
but who then loses interest and stores his 'conquests' in
outdoor sheds until further notice. The hoarder thrives
on unexpected finds and his collection usually makes no
'sense', but it is sometimes a lot of fun.
Or you could be a man/woman who has
recently come into or made money and seeks to now
show his prowess by buying all that is expensive and/or
fashionably trendy, without having an intimate relationship
nor knowledge of the work acquired. Into this category falls
the collector who has an interest in emulating 'old money'
and who then will buy 'facsimile' art which somewhat resembles
what has been seen in the 'big house' while growing up.
Or you might be a would-be collector
who is curious about the relationship, manifested
by the art of the time, between previous generations and
ours. There might be the collector, for instance, who specializes
in medieval art forms showing hell and damnation only, leading
him or her to make certain deductions about life in the
twenty-first century. This would make for a highly specialized
collection, one highly prized as a gift by many museums,
which cannot afford to collect in such a fashion themselves.
It is, however, an expensive way of doing things and mostly
out of reach for the ordinary punter.
There might be the collector whose
brief to himself is to support young and emerging artists.
This was something my father was interested in and did so
with gusto, although, ultimately his collection was not
large and nor was it outstanding. However, he was a risk-taker
and exemplary in this as he did put his wallet where his
mouth was and helped many to survive. If you consider that
from ten artists, possibly only one or (at the most) two
ever reach a stage where they could be considered as having
some sort of success, then his risk-taking was admirable.
An element I have found in almost every
collector I ever dealt with was a certain amount of social
responsibility, real or self-imagined. In other words there
is a strong desire to preserve something for themselves
or the community at large which otherwise might not survive.
Even the furniture collector who stores his booty in the
shed might assist, unwittingly, in this process.
In fact, many of the above-mentioned
traits are found in all or most collectors, more or less
predominantly. A collection will mirror some or most of
the above. It is, in other words, a very personal and, also,
revealing activity. Needless to say, a passion for and enjoyment
of the work collected should always be present.
And there is, besides many other types
of collectors not mentioned here, that one person who interests
me most to work with. He or she is the person who collects
with purpose from the start, the purpose being that
all the work collected is of such excellent quality, that
at any given time the collection could be handed over to
a public institution (museums, etc.) and said institution
would be happy to accept it and build on to it further,
since no collection can ever be completed, since there is
always something out there which needs to be included, but
may not have been available before. What I do not recommend
is to buy, as has become habit with many collectors and
even public institutions, two of everything. A committed
collector who, let's say, is following the progress of one
artist only, should buy several works of each working period
of that artist, so that the collection mirrors ideally the
development the artist has gone through over the years.
Ideal would be to buy two to three works each year, although
that might be out of reach for many attempting to put together
a collection. But, it would be a more genuine representation
of who this artist is or is in the process of becoming and
therefore would qualify as a 'sensible' decision.
Several collections I had the pleasure
to work with (I just name Klaus Lafrenz from Hamburg here!)
ended up in museums / public galleries and that was intended
from the beginning. It gave this collector great personal
pleasure to choose each individual work with great care
and ruthless scrutiny, and putting the collection together
was time-consuming and took place over many years. The collection
owned by Lafrenz, a pharmacist in Hamburg, was financially
based on a major sale he made of a collection of inherited
Josef Albers prints. He kept the best (personal-value judgment)
and then used the monies realized to start with his big
adventure, which became a very important element for the
remainder of his life, which was tragically cut short by
a car accident. The emphasis of this collection was on the
great American minimalists (Judd, Serra, Marden, Ryman and
others) and part of it was on loan to IMMA in IMMA's early
years.
Closely tied in to this type of collection
would be a collection which would be specifically tailored
to a wish list from a museum. As we all know, museums
have a hard time financially these days, and more and more
are dependent for their collections on the goodwill and
co-operation from private and business sources (this is
the American model). So, getting to know a curator in a
museum, to find out what their need is, could be a starting
point for many a collector who is undecided as to what to
buy.
C: The big question: how
do you start?
AvG: First of all, after examining
your reasons for collecting at all and deciding where your
specific interests lie, you start reading as much as you
can about your given subject matter. You look at exhibition
catalogues, auction catalogues, websites, gallery listings,
interviews with artists, specialist magazines, television
documentaries about artists and so on. You go to as many
exhibitions as you can fit into your schedule. In other
words, take some time to observe. Train your 'eye'. Now
this is a particular facility which, possibly, cannot be
trained and you might be born with it, but you can school
your eye by exposure and comparison. This will take some
time, and patience with yourself is very important.
When you feel confident enough, choose
your specialty and, also, choose someone you trust to guide
you. This person must have a comprehensive background in
the art world, be well connected and knowledgeable about
your chosen area and be able to assist you in selecting
work which makes 'sense' in your future collection. In other
words, I advocate sensible collecting rather than the spontaneous
type, where a collector collects furiously for a while,
but stops when other, seemingly more exciting ventures beckon.
In a sensible collection the 'finished product', so to speak
(and as we heard before, no collection is ever really finished)
consists of work which as a whole gives a superior impression
of what any given movement, or the oeuvre of a particular
artist, is or was all about. This means, in effect, that
buying for your collection, preferably with the assistance
of a well-versed adviser, should be a very deliberate, careful
process.
C: Why an adviser?
AvG: The adviser or consultant,
although I dislike the latter term since it has been so
abused recently, can help you to narrow down the field you
want to get active in. He or she might be able to do so
by suggesting various options, pointing out movements (or
just one artist) which have been neglected of late and should
be collected (and are probably also still affordable) or
keep an eagle eye on potential great artists of the future,
also still within a reasonable price range usually; although
as I mentioned before, price should not be the determining
factor in making your selection. Loving the work should
be the strongest criterion.
You then could decide whether you collect
the work of one or several artists or go for a movement
per se or commission sculpture on a large scale and help
put together a sculpture park or, maybe, just look for work
by upcoming artists who have no lobby and no collectors
yet, or any other idea you might come up with. The choice
is yours, but once taken, it should be treated with respect
and earnestness, because in the case of living artists,
you also enter into the realm of responsibility towards
them.
C: OK, you've found a work
of art that interests you, and you think you might buy it.
What next?
AvG: Any given work which arouses
your interest must be examined as to its current physical
condition, authenticity, price structure and suitability
for your specific collection. In the case of someone deciding
that they would want to collect from one movement only,
it has to be determined what grade of importance the artist
on offer has within that movement. That rule, however, can
sometimes be broken if a particularly beautiful work by
a lesser artists of the movement is on offer. After all,
collecting should also have an element of fun and adventure
and the unexpected.
In recent years there have been many
instances, in particular in the print medium, where signatures
have been forged or work has been made posthumously, etc.
Dalí, Manzoni, Fontana, Warhol come to mind. Where doubt
exists it is important to have a written expertise (certificate
of authenticity) accompanying the work in question. It has
been shown, however, that even major auction houses have
fallen prey in such matters, and one can never be too careful.
An experienced adviser can assist in finding sources which
have less likelihood of deceit. Also, if you are buying
graphic work, which is usually in an edition, signed, numbered
and dated, it is very important to find out how high the
edition is, and how many APs (artist's proofs) or PPs (printer's
proofs) have been made at the time. Very important too is
the manner of framing, if the piece had been framed before.
Was only acid-free material used in mounting and affixing
the work? This should be reversible and removable without
leaving a trace, or the value of the print is severely diminished.
In a climate such as in Ireland, we also deal with enormous
humidity problems, which have destroyed many valuable, irreplaceable
pieces. Look for evidence of that since it could be another
value-diminishing factor, besides being a scandal.
C: And what if the price
for the work is very steep?
AvG: When buying for your collection
price should not be the first consideration, unless you
are collecting on a shoestring and then your hands are tied
somewhat. Prices can be negotiated, part- or deferred payments
can be arranged, particularly if dealing with the artist
and his dealer personally. It is more difficult to do that
with an auction house.
In evaluating whether you should buy
a painting by a certain painter for your collection, it
would be a good idea to find out either from the artist
or his representative what standing within the oeuvre of
that particular artist the purchase would have. An integer
representative would give an honest assessment, and if the
answers were negative regarding this work, would steer you
towards another more important work, from the artist's point
of view.
C: Collecting sculpture would
seem to be a slightly different case, as there is more room,
sometimes, to work in the public domain...
AvG: With sculpture
we have a unique way of choosing in as much as we can commission
a work for a public space, museum or institution or, of
course, our own garden or house. Here we need to work very
closely with the artist in order to arrive at what is needed
for a specific space. This can be most rewarding for a collector.
By commissioning a public sculpture,
which the collector then will donate, we exercise another
element which comes into collecting and that is to be socially
caring by making such a work available to the widest possible
audience.
In sculpture the collector has to be
very aware of the materials used. How they are taken care
of, how different materials react with climatic conditions,
the wear and tear of daily life, pollution, the most advantageous
siting of the work and factors which will encroach all too
easily into the space of a three-dimensional object, threatening
future damage.
C: You've bought that coveted
artwork. What next?
AvG: It is important for a would-be
collector to know that while his collection is still under
his stewardship he has to invest a good bit of time (and
possibly money) in taking care of or 'curating' his collection
and, ultimately, his investment. He needs to have each work
photographed for his own files and to check out, now and
then, whether the condition is still identical to when the
work was originally purchased, for instance.
One must not forget either how important
the right and enhancing frame and possible mount is for
prints and drawings, how stretchers in paintings must warrant
one's attention, since some artists do not use seasoned
enough wood because they, very often, cannot afford to do
so, and then risk that the stretcher bends out of shape
in a few years, thereby affecting the paintings themselves
by causing cracks on the surfaces. In the past thirty or
so years artists have had complete freedom to use whatever
material they choose to use. The other side of the medallion
is, of course, that some work starts to deteriorate badly.
Joseph Beuys and Dieter Roth come to mind, who used amongst
other ingredients chocolate, lard, honey, cheese, etc. Some
of the work has developed a severe case of mold. However,
quite often this was also anticipated and intended by the
artists themselves. A very good restorer can look at a questionable
work and determine whether the current condition is restorable
or was planned by the artist as part of the process. Photography
is very susceptible to surface scratches and fingerprints
and needs to, preferably, be touched while wearing cotton
gloves only. Also, in this medium one needs to ascertain
when the print was made and by whom. Were prints printed
after the artist died and who made or authorized them? Videos,
being newer in the running, so to speak, need to be checked
carefully as well as to their quality. Sound distortion
and discolouration, bootleg copies and so on, come to mind.
Yes, it is not easy being a proper collector.
It is important, also, to catalogue
the work you have collected. You should list the date you
bought the work, the artist, title, year, signature (if
any), expertise, certificate (if any), size, dimensions,
condition, etc., all the pertinent factors, not forgetting
where bought and at what price. Apart from the fact that
you need all of this for your insurance company it will
also give you an interesting insight into your own collecting
habits after a while.
C: Do collections 'go wrong'?
AvG: A collector has an opportunity
to build a more personal relationship with an artist than
almost anyone and can, therefore, be an invaluable ally
for him. Those works that end up in a museum have, in a
manner of speaking, reached their final destination, unless
that museum is forced one day to sell part of its collection
for whatever reasons.
A museum is a keeper and caretaker
of artifacts for the good of the people and only rarely,
in recent memory, can it afford to put a foot wrong. It
is accountable to accountants and other technical staff,
whose knowledge of art is, at best, not proficient. This
has led to the creation of countless 'token museum collections'
worldwide. By this I mean institutions which feel compelled
to buy for their contemporary departments two or three of
whatever is trendy at the moment for fear of not being seen
to be up to date - very often ignoring the beauty that is
being produced elsewhere. 'Beauty', of course, is almost
a dirty word in this context now, so let's say that important
new work by unknown, younger artists is being dismissed
because they do not, in most cases, have the right connections.
It is a courageous keeper of collections or director who
is willing to break this regrettable new practice and who
will dare to put an individual, personal stamp on a public
collection.
The man I most admired in this regard
was Knud Jensen of the Louisiana Museum, Humlebćk, Denmark
(my favourite museum, by the way). There is a severe lack
of such figures today in the artworld, and it is high time
another emerges.
C: And what of artists -
how do they find their collector, their Knud Jensen?
AvG: Artists (and their collectors)
need to acknowledge that fame is only temporary at best,
given the nature of life itself. The important point is
that an artist must have a very strong belief in himself
and that he keep his artistic substance and honesty intact,
lifelong. Artists, after all, do not live from art,
they live for art. Every artist, I think, is working
for those or that which comes after him. The great desire
(conceit?) being that through art one can, maybe, challenge
or even overcome mortality. This belief system has to be
understood by the collector, I believe.
C: Bringing it all back home,
what should be happening here in Ireland in relation to
collectors and collecting?
AvG: The time has come for Dublin
to give birth to excellent, contemporary collections. This
has not happened, so far. All great urban, rich cultures
(Paris, Munich, New York, London, Florence) have encouraged
and fostered outstanding private collections. Not so Dublin.
Here, a certain mediocre provincialism has still a foothold
and should be dismissed in favour of seeing the larger picture,
Here it is generally assumed that if a painting has been
auctioned off in either Dublin or London at a ridiculously
inflated price that this denotes quality and, in art-historical
terms, longevity. It does not, in most cases; it is very
often a case of 'local boy made good' combined with poor
aesthetic and / or value judgement. Great art collecting
only flourishes where there is money (new or old, or both),
but so far we have seen little evidence of that here
There is a hesitancy to go beyond certain,
usually self-imposed boundaries. And also, very often, the
prospect of eventually selling the collection at overinflated
prices is the sole motivator for collecting in the first
place. In other words, don't even start collecting if your
whole idea is to make 'a buck' from the start. That is not
collecting. It will cloud your judgment when looking at
art if you already, in the very beginning, calculate how
much you could financially gain. Good or excellent art will
gradually increase in value all by itself, obeying the same
kind of laws of demand and supply as everything else. But
you cannot and should not put pressure on the artist nor
their representative by asking them whether they can guarantee
a steady rise in value. No-one can do that, unless you enter
a manipulative situation, created by a consortium of people
who are in it for the money only. Those types of things
exist, but they show no (outward) signs of integrity and
should be avoided.
Artists are usually the victims in
the long run when 'something more exciting' comes along
and they find themselves dropped when their attractiveness
has faded in the eyes of the manipulators. In fact, the
contemporary artworld is not much different from rock 'n
roll in this respect, and the future collector should avoid
those pitfalls by sticking to the criteria I've already
mentioned previously.
By the way, you would be better off
going into vintage cars or wines if most of what I've said
scares you.
C: And how do you
fit into this system?
AvG: I cannot stress too much
how important it is in all your collecting activities to
work closely with someone whose judgement and knowledge
you trust. Time and funds will be saved by going this route
and establishing a working relationship with such a person
will also give you an added dimension to your life since
you will gain an insight into a world which is not all that
transparent. This will be true whether you only collect
Bauhaus furniture, Louis Quinze sconces, Impressionism,
Symbolism, Chuck Close prints, architectural drawings or
Irish Art, or any other.
I said previously, you should not look
first at the price of any given work, but let your eye decide
that this is what you need and want. You need to buy with
passion and commitment to the artist, whether he is a living
artist or from a previous era. Collecting without passion
is like strawberries without cream. Your collection should
give you joy first, and ideally, joy to many people after
you.
In Ireland and in many other countries,
tax breaks are available which will make it easier to pursue
active collecting. It does, however, stipulate that in your
lifetime the work will be on public view for a specified
time. Whether this is of interest to you or your family,
you will have to decide yourself.
The satisfaction, however, of building
up a worthwhile collection is all yours alone.
C: Who would you recommend
buying at the moment?
AvG: Here are some of the artists
who meet my own (admittedly) individual / personal standard.
I have rated them, or some anyway, according to their
affordability and appeal and importance (to me, anyway,
but what are advisers for, anyway, if they don't take a
stand?). This list is actually geared to those who, maybe,
are only starting to collect, although some of the artists
mentioned (Ryman, Twombly, Fontana) are already out of reach.
It is, however, always a good idea to aim for the best,
regardless. One can always dream.
