A Beginner's Guide to Starting a Meaningful Art Collection, Part 3

Welcome back! For the past two weeks, we’ve discussed why you should begin an art collection, and how to best discover and connect with new artists. This final segment is on approaching artists, supporting their practice, and purchasing their work.

(If you missed out, check out A Beginner's Guide to Starting a Meaningful Art Collection, Part 1 and Part 2. )

In prepping this final installment, I cast the net far and wide to all my artist friends, seeking their personal stories of all the ways we can better support artists. I opened a Pandora’s box of insight, hilarity, and cautionary tales, both from the perspective of artists AND collectors.

** Disclaimer: I need to start out by saying that this post is not intended to be a stern talking-to. Look, we all don’t know what we don’t know. In many ways, the contemporary art world is still the Wild West. Unlike most other fields, there is no universal protocol when it comes to commissions, contracts, pricing, or exhibition agreements. And as artists, it’s incumbent on us to define and enforce professional behavior and treatment. Get your systems in place, artist friends!  This list is not inclusive, and not every item will apply in every situation. These are just things to consider as a potential collector AND as a practicing artist.

Jennifer Markowitz, "Chicago, September 1993-May 1995", Bustier with hand embroidered map of Chicago on silk. Hand embroidered images on silk organza skirt. Both bustier and skirt made by hand as well, 2019. In Jennifer’s words, “In the series Fleshmap: My Embroidered Bipolar Geographies, I use thread to circumnavigate my own bipolar disorder by mapping the geography of memory in all its disarray and confusion. Through relentless re-visits of intimate terrains, I have mapped a life frequently interrupted by mental illness. Each of the hand-embroidered panels excavates personal events beginning in 1985 and spanning several US cities as well as multiple international relocations. Within each panel are images and text pulled from memories, traumas, confusions, artifacts and maps. My preoccupations with psychogeography, environment and the revealing of facets of self within a narrative have remained the main characteristics of my creative output. Fleshmap invites the viewer to travel through an unflinching navigation between memory and place.” Learn more about Jennifer and her work here.

Four Steps for Approaching Artists

1. As a potential collector, do your homework. At this point, you should know what kind of work you want to collect, and ideally a few artists creating this type of work. A cautionary tale - when falling in love with an artist’s work, please remember that many artists may not want to talk about the content or inspiration behind their art practice. It may simply be too personal. Many of us create because words are too painful or cannot do justice to our life experiences. Often, this is precisely what makes our work so powerful. Respect the artist by letting them set the stage with how much they want to share.

2. Establish your annual art budget. You can then break this down into monthly or quarterly purchases, or you can invest in a more costly piece per year.

3. Match your budget to the artist. Do not ask the artist to cut you a deal. And do not expect your artist friend or relative to give you “old” art for free. (ARTISTS: Do not give old work to friends and relatives for free.)

4. Inquire respectfully. If there are no prices on the artist’s website or social media page, send them a private message letting them know that you admire their work, that you’re interested in purchasing a piece, and your budgetary range. Provide an email and cell phone number. There are plenty of email scams targeting artists (I had a scammer contact me just this weekend), so make sure you write in a meaningful way and provide more than one form of contact information. (ARTISTS: Establish your pricing and payment methods.)

 Tips for Purchasing Artwork

• After reaching out to the artist with either a particular piece in mind or a price range, let the artist take the lead on forms of acceptable payment. Some artists will offer payment plans, some will not. Please do not bargain with the artist, just as you would not bargain with any other type of professional.

• Inquire about shipping costs, framing or mounting, and return policy. (ARTISTS: Define your policies before you are approached by a potential client. What will you provide?)

• A reminder that artists own all copyrights to their work, forever and ever, unless stated otherwise. This means that it is illegal for the collector to reproduce and/or profit off the original artwork without explicit permission from the artist.

Shand Stamper, Magical Flight Large, enamel on copper.

Shand is a teacher, jewelry artist, and metalsmith who resides with her family in Paducah, Kentucky. In Shand’s words, she “spin[s] stories into contemporary heirloom jewelry pieces as well as hand craft my own amulet jewelry line, infused with my own stories of life, land, and lore. I hand craft each piece using time honored traditions and high quality lasting metals like silver and ethical gold; they are all truly a testament to honoring connection.” Learn more about Shand and her work here.

Four Ways to Better Support Artists

**Another Disclaimer. I do not believe any of the following examples are done maliciously. Honestly, I think art is still seen by many, including artists, as a murky Venn diagram intersecting a talent, a calling, and a fun pastime, and not a legit professional endeavor. We artists have a responsibility in setting the tone of professionalism in our work by defining what we will, and will not, do. So, take stock and hold yourself to a high standard.

1. Buy work from living artists. Avoid buying work from big box stores, thrift shops, or antique stores. Most of us value supporting local businesses. Art’s no different. If you can’t afford high-end work, consider buying a print or a small piece.

2. Commission artists. Respectfully. Do not approach an artist with an image or idea of something you’ve seen, and ask them to recreate it, particularly if the subject matter or style is unlike anything the artist normally creates. Remember that artists charge for initial consultations and preliminary sketches. (ARTISTS: Charge for initial consultations and preliminary sketches.)

3. If you want original art for your business, treat it as a legitimate business expense. Loads of well-meaning small businesses provide local artists with wall space to exhibit their work. I’ll be honest, I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it allows emerging artists to have an exhibition experience prior to gallery exhibitions. It also allows artists to support their friends’ small businesses. On the other hand, many of these businesses profit doubly from artists in A) beautifying their business space free of charge, and B) securing a percentage of sales if artwork is sold from their business. And unlike galleries, many small businesses do not contribute installation labor (this is usually on the artist); do not promote the artist or artwork in their marketing efforts; do not cultivate relationships with potential collectors on behalf of the artists; and often do not host receptions for the artist. Yet, many still take a percentage from the artist if artwork sells. I would challenge artists and business owners alike to get very clear on creating a more symbiotic professional relationship in these situations. For example, a business could agree to purchase a piece after the exhibition, pay a rental fee for the exhibition, give the artist 100% of the sales, dedicate consistent marketing efforts to the art and artist (social media posts and tags, an artist interview, inclusion in the monthly newsletter), or a combination of these.

4. Support artists before you ask them to donate work for your fundraising event. The following is another cautionary tale from a friend from grad school. I couldn’t have said it better myself.

“My husband and I get asked by so many of our local fundraising groups to donate! My jewelry (which is a luxury good - hand crafted, ethically sourced stones, sustainable materials whenever available) and my husband’s wood fired ceramics. The Rotary, Easter Seals, Ladies Who Lunch, all have big ticketed events where they auction or silent auction goods. If I know the person and if they have bought work from us previously, I will donate (usually!). But, I’m always stunned that people who have never supported us will ask for something for free for their cause, expect a donation, and often don’t tell us, potential donors, about the mission that they’re raising money for, and don’t offer a ticket to the fundraiser in exchange. It seems like a small offering to create better buy-in and help with the sale for the work. The best experiences I have had are with larger fundraising events where we were offered a ticket; invited to attend; treated as if we belonged there; introduced to people as donor artists; and then later followed up with the actual selling price of the items for our research and development and tax records. I want to be able to try to recoup some of that loss. Saying “exposure” and creating genuine exposure are two different things. Artists deserve a seat at the table if you’re capitalizing off of them.”

The moral of the story, I believe, is that artists are not only creative visionaries, but we are also small business owners. The more we own that, and then create practices that reflect and respect that fact, the better.

Started a collection and wanna frame it? I got you covered. Start here: How to Hang Art on Your Walls, Part I.

Kristen Tordella-Williams, Enclosed you will find, burnt reference book pages embedded in cotton paper, wood, clothespins, Each sheet is 11x14”, full installation is ~10’x8’x16”, 2018.

Kristen is an Associate Professor of Art at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. In Kristen’s words “Enclosed you will find (2018) is a series of burnt book pages embedded in handmade white cotton paper. The burnt pages are from a Shakespeare quarterly reference publication repurposed from when the Millsaps library purged its paper archives of unread literature. Burning a book is a strong action referential to Fahrenheit 451 and the Nazi book burnings of the 30s and 40s. To burn a book is to be fearful of its contents and the spreading of ideas contrary to those held by the powerful. I’ve taken the ephemeral burnt pages and cauterized them in wet paper, securing the burnt action indefinitely in white cotton and compressing the materials together through the process of hand papermaking. Fortunately, the only book harmed in the making of this piece was already destined for the recycling bin.” Learn more about Kristen and her work here.