THE FRUSTRATION OF WANT
July 31st, 2008Or: The security of „No, Thanks.“
This is really absurd (and doesn’t contain any pictures). I have been occupying my time with art since a mere eight weeks. And when I see an artwork now I can already tell if it is something I don’t want.
This is the easier part. Not wanting things and knowing why. Some may be more decorative than mindboggling. Some might be an idea I can appreciate but that still doesn’t inspire me. Take Banksy for example. His stuff looks great and his way of working certainly is part of his art. Still, I don’t need to have any of this stuff or prints of it. For me, it’s enough to see what he is doing and how that influences the art world and the rest of the world.
Some communities in the UK even let the population decide what street art to remove and what to keep and preserve, so I hear. This is certainly a stunning development, fueled by artists like Banksy. Does it make me want to live with his stuff? No.
Knowing what I don’t want gives me a sense of security. Even if it’s a superficial or even false one.
Wanting things is much, much harder! Wanting things and knowing why is really tough. Why is that? Because then I start thinking about whether I could afford it. Should the artwork be available at all.
Rudolf Reiber’s “Dark Matter” for example is so easy for me to want. It fits in with my tiny collection, it follows the same line, it continues to amaze me. But it’s hard for me to get. (Maybe I should try and talk Rik Reinking into selling it to me. Next week I’ll have a look at another work by Reiber that I’m almost equally interested in. We’ll see if that one becomes unavailable due to budget or not.)
So, knowing what I want mostly gives me a sense of incompleteness and loss.
While it’s exciting to find things, the artworks I can’t have continue to echo in my brain. …How can I explain the feeling? Let’s try it this way: The art world is a universe running parallel to mine. I can look into it, but I can’t pull much of it into my universe.
Which, of course, is what got me hooked, what keeps me going.
And I have made plans, also, to get more art …
July 31st, 2008 at 9:23 am
hi tommi! two questions fell into my head while reading your last, really interesting article. first: do you think that there’ll also be an development of “not wanting things and knowing why” over the years? and second: after purchasing your first 2 pieces of art: what do you think is the difference between merely looking at art and actually owning it? i’m always fascinated by the variety of answers you get from different collectors, i’d be interested in your thoughts about this. all the best, christian
August 11th, 2008 at 9:53 am
To answer your questions quickly, Christian:
1: I’m have a feeling that I will have other reasons for not wanting art 10 years from now. But I also suspect they will be additional reasons rather than different ones. When I had the chance to talk to Mr. Schürmann, he also confirmed my suspicion that after a certain time, one detects certain constants in the collecting behaviour.
2: Owning art feels very different compared to looking at it. There is a sense of “I really bought it!” With my artworks however it feels like the two framed pieces are mere manifestations of an idea. And I’m extremely thankful that Lasse not only thought about doing it (which is great in itself and it would have enriched my life just hearing his idea) but actually did it. So now I have iluustration material at home and makes me feel like I own at least a little bit of his idea.
And of course, this is still an amateur speaking so it might all be subject to change in the near or far future …
Your questions are far too good, by the way. How am I supposed to answer that quickly? But it was worth taking the time!