Art Lies, Volume 23, Summer 1999 Page: 7
60 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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San Antonio Collects
by
Wendy Weil Atwell and Riley RobinsonLuis Jimenez
La Sherry y Sonny's Car, 1976
Courtesy of Joe DiazWhen asked to write an article about collecting for ArtLies, we were
already curating an exhibition for Blue Star Art Space focusing on San
Antonio contemporary art collectors. What follows is an essay that we
wrote for the exhibition that includes our thoughts about collectors and
collecting, as well as comments from some of the collectors who participated
in the show.
We chose collectors who collect art for a variety of reasons. While some
collectors are artists who either trade or purchase art, many other collectors
are connected with the art world in some way, either through business
ownership, docent work, or writing. Many of the private collectors were
doctors; some traded their medical care for art.
Janet Flohr is the co-founder of Hare and Hound Press with partner
Gary Nichols. Carla Stellweg is the director of Blue Star Art Space, and
Roger Welch is an artist and writer. Ken Little, Gary Sweeney, Alex
DeLeon and Tinka Tarver are all artists working in San Antonio. Private
collectors include Liz Carney and Don O'Toole, Joe Diaz, Dr. Leo and
Irene Edwards, Kimberlea Jones, Alice and Jerry Kruse, Sally and George
Muellich, and Dr. John and Carolyn Seal.
Finally, collectors not mentioned here that also participated in Blue
Star XIV San Antonio Collects include private collectors Dr. Joseph and
Aaronetta Pierce, Dr. Greg and Cheryl Jackson, and graphic designer and
artist Chuck Ramirez.
-Wendy Weil Atwell is a writer currently getting her
Masters in Art History with Francis Colpitt at UTSA.
Riley Robinson is a contemporary artist who also
works at ArtPace. Both Riley and Wendy serve on the
board at San Antonio's Blue Star Art Space.What drives the compulsion to collect? Many collectors admit their
purchases are impulsive and intuitive, based on the awareness that the
art they bring into their fold is simply right to live with. The image,
the medium, and everything about the object come together in a way
that connects with their sensibility and they have to have it. Eventually,
art might find its way into closets, desk drawers, and under beds. The
collectors in Blue Star XIV San Antonio Collects haven't purchased
their art merely to adorn walls. Instead, the art in this show embodies
the collectors' passion for the art object as a way of representing what
is meaningful to them.
Artists who collect often trade their work for other art, so the
exchange must be one of mutual respect. The allure of artists' collec-
tions stems from this valued exchange. Also, the artist's collection
functions as a visual analog that may bring new light to the artist's own
creative inspiration.
Viewing a collection, in general, is a revelatory and slightly
voyeuristic process. The formal qualities of the work, not to mention
the subject matter and content, are provocative in the context of a
collection. What is it about the object that attracts the collector? What
is the connection between these objects that brings them together in
one spot? Seen together under one roof, the objects create a narrative,
a secret understanding, of how they were united into one collection.
Yet the implications made by the narrative line of the art objects
remain only one side of the equation; on the other side is the magic of
the collector(s); the mysterious fuel for their passion.
As curators, we wanted to exhibit the art in a way that reflects
how it lives in the home of the collector. The color of the walls and the
way the art is hung is in keeping with the respective collector's style,
be it minimal, salon, or downright funky.
Collecting art is a benign addiction in a world of mass-market,
throwaway consumer items. As capitalism continues to invent endless
ways to spend the dollar, collecting art contradicts the fast track
disposable concept-consumption with transitory, immediate
rewards, passing out of fashion as trends cycle. Though art's value is by
nature fluid and sometimes ephemeral, the purchasing of art builds
solid constructions of valued artistic endeavors. How many consump-
tive items of pleasure, or even necessities, have been shunned in the
name of aesthetics?
The collectors in this show have made conscious decisions to
surround themselves with art, for varying reasons: art may serve to
flesh out the personalities of the owners, bring new discourses, enrich
personae, explore meanings, and symbolize cultural values. Or maybe
it's just really cool. Underlying all of these reasons, however, is the
added dimension of richness that art brings to its surroundings,
as demonstrated by the collections featured in Blue Star XIV
San Antonio Collects.
We thank each and every one of the collectors for sharing their
work with Blue Star Art Space.
Wendy Weil Atwell
Riley Robinson
July 2, 1999ARTLIES SUMMER 1999
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Lightman, Victoria H. Art Lies, Volume 23, Summer 1999, periodical, 1999; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth228053/m1/9/?q=%22Bryant%2C+John%22: accessed May 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .