Some advice on collecting & why I do it.

When I was asked to talk about starting your own collection at The Glasgow Art Fair ? year/20??? I was delighted. The audience was very enthusiastic & I was embarrassed to find a short video online after the event. It contains some key points about about collecting & of course is only a snapshot of the whole lecture, but I hope would encourage you to think about collecting, because after all without new collectors photographers coming up through the ranks today will have no one to sell to.

So why do I do it?

Well in order to order my reasons I figured a list was the best way to go, though I stress that this list is in no particular order:

Because I LOVE photography & want to be part of nurturing its future in the art world.

I get absolute joy from my collection & sharing it with others.

I don't just want to leave the buying to a bunch of very rich men, the rest of the worlds markets rely on a bunch of very rich men & look where thats got us.

The photography market needs more buyers with taste in order to introduce new emerging artists to the art world. The best way to do this is to support them by purchasing & promoting them; not just by looking at their work. Compliments do not help them make more work or push their careers to the next level.

You must practice what you preach.

Every work becomes a friend, revealing new things to you as the days, weeks, months & years go by a great work shows its true depth.

I have helped some make their mark & made some amazing friends along the way.

You can start small & build work your way up. A masterpiece of photography is still a fraction of the price of a master painting.

The people I have met through collecting have become firm friends, we advise each other, share stories & keep a dialogue going about the photography world, which keeps us all on our toes, learning & educating ourselves. (Stops my brain getting soft)

The thrill of discovery...as exciting as any explorer can expierience I'm sure & less mozzie bites!

Just when you think its all been done (as the old saying goes) something amazing comes along.

So what are you waiting for?

Don't take my word for it, get collecting!


Picture credits: (2 favourite works in my collection)

©Jeffrey Milstein
American Airlines McDonnel Douglas MD-82
34 x 34" - edition of 10

Alfred Stieglitz (U.S., 1864–1946)
Snapshot in the New York Central Yards [Camera Work 20, 1907]. 1902
Photogravure
7 1/2 x 6 1/8 in. image size

2011 starts with a BIG bang!

It's all began with a Big BANG!
Then we came along and made it all about Big Bucks!
Yes you've guessed it, the title of our next show: 'Big Bangs, Big Bucks' with the artists Geoffrey H. Short and Nikolai Ischuck.

Power & beauty are themes shared by both artists. We find ourselves drawn to both with a mixture of fascination & fear. The danger presented by each of these is felt acutely this moment in history - with wars raging & economies collapsing around us - no one feels safe or secure. The threat of terrorism just around the next street corner (or so the media & politicians would like us to believe) looms large. Money (or lack thereof) has caused untold damage to countries & individuals alike. Yet despite this, we want it. It may be said that those who think that money can't buy happiness don't know where to shop, but without it there is guaranteed suffering.

The urge to just blast it all away with something destructive & frivolous - like a new pair of shoes or a sparkly camera, sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll - has a freeing quality all of its own. The abandon that come with irresponsible behaviour has its own benefits (albeit short-lived) of freeing the soul to indulge in pure pleasure for pleasures sake. This is where Short's images take us. Looking into those enormous explosions in the sky take you up into the clouds & far away from the everyday stresses & strains of life. 'Don't play with fire', 'don't get your fingers burnt'. Wise words indeed, but better still let Geoffrey Short do it for you & relish the results! I find myself lost in the terrifying beauty of the flames, knowing the danger they represent, but finding them insatiably attractive all the same.

Nikolai Ischuck's Big Bucks reveal the inherent beauty of not only the intricate design of currency, but also of the notes as objects themselves. The scuffed edges discloses that they have passed through many hands, creating a map of its life so far akin to the lines in our own faces, they tell stories without words. The hundred trillion Zimbabwean Dollar note (no longer in circulation) has a hole in the bottom right corner. This hole may have happened as a result of general wear & tear, yet the fact it ever existed at all speaks volumes regarding the terrifying levels of inflation that occurred leading to its production in the first place.

There is a lot to write about this work, I have only scratched the surface but will return to explore the works by both artists in further blogs. They have just gone up on the walls, so I can now get to know them on a more personal level each day. As with all great art, the relationship that is struck between the work & the viewer can only be developed through repeated viewing. And this is what I intend to do.