The Marketing, Alumni Communications, and Admissions teams--and Heidi's girls in front--August 2008
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Last summer, I traded my job as a marketing director at Simmons for permanent truancy. I loved my work and my faculty and staff colleagues (with many of whom I remain in close touch). But working full time limited my freedom to pursue my interests in creative writing and the visual arts.
After leaving Simmons, some nicely challenging freelance projects came my way of their own accord and the old issue of "work/life balance" reared its head again. But, I've finally got a handle on how to manage those projects and schedule time to indulge my passions, as well.
Over the years, I've written essays and articles and been fortunate to have most of them published. Next up on the writing roster is completing two longer works, tentatively titled, My Mother's Money and How Colleges Really Work.Ã
While working at Simmons I met many students who have gone on to other ventures out in the big wide world. But as a graduate student there in the 90s, working full time in the for-profit sector left little time to talk with my classmates about their interests outside of the classroom. So, the opportunity to connect with others in this forum is very appealing. Let's hear it for another great idea from the Simmons alumni communications group!
I'm a native New Yorker whose parents actively believed in the value of literature and the arts. We visited museums, natural history and art, nearly every weekend. (You might say I'm a cultural nerd.)
I hope this blog will host a conversation about art--specifically collecting affordable, original art. During my eleven years working at the college, I got to know some extraordinary Simmons art faculty. We'll get to hear from some of them in future posts, and benefit from their exceptional expertise.
As an adult undergraduate at Northeastern University, I had a master mentor in the artist Robert Wells, then chair of the art department there. I'll be sharing some lessons from him, too, and providing useful resources, such as links to information packed Websites.
Over the years, I've collected very moderately priced pieces. Some of that artwork has increased in value beyond anything I could have imagined, although I don't play the art market, i.e., purchase pieces in the hopes of making a profit. I've got good art hanging on my walls (and stored in my attic), but I'm not a complete art snob. A frequently admired piece of art actually is wrapping paper--that's right, wrapping paper--that my husband and I bought from a museum store. It's framed and hanging in our kitchen.
Please jump in and write about your experiences appreciating and collecting inexpensive original art. And we're not going to be highbrows here, so please send along any funny art-related stories (are there any funny art-related stories?), too.
[Pardon any weird "A" symbols in this post. They refused to be deleted!]
I recently saw an exhibit at Broadmoor, an Audobon Society park. They were priced between $125 and $500, which I suppose counts as moderately priced. Anyway, I was sufficiently attracted that I went back three or four weeks later. I was diappointed to find that the exhibit had ended, but I got the artist's name (Sarah Alexander), and through the magic of google, found her website and sent her email.
There were two paintings in particular that I liked - one foot square each, of dandelions gone to seed.
She invited me to the Open Studios at the Holliston Mill Art Studios, a place I never knew existed. My directions weren't very good (blame mapquest), so I got there much later than I had planned.
When I found Sarah's studio (on the fourth floor), the paintins I loved were there, but a sold sticker marked one. I took the other to Sarah, and she told me - the other one wasn't sold, another artistin the building wanted it, but she'd told him that he couldn't have it unless I didn't show up at all.
Of course I visited all the other studios as well. I recognized the paintings in one room from an exhibit at the Wellesley Public library - a great place to look at affordable art!
Love this topic! I'm a huge Hunter S. Thompson fan, and one day I acquired a limited edition litho called "Bats Over Barstow" that Ralph Steadman created for the 25th anniversary of the publication of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." Right after HST died, I put the piece on eBay and made a profit big enough to cover a new universal gym for our basement. Before the auction I never even thought of it as an investment. My wife always hated the thing -- until the day I sold it.
Looking forward to future posts from you, Lynette.
What a wonderful topic, Lynette. I can't believe, in all the conversations we've had, we've never covered our shared love of the Hirshhorn! In the Boston area, one of the places I try to visit each year is the student show at the Museum of Fine Art School - usually this sale is in early December. I am always struck at the high quality of the pieces and some of the prices would fall into the moderate range. On the Cape, I try to check out the Harvest Gallery in Dennis from time to time. They show the work of a friend of mine, who lives in PTown, which is how I became acquainted with the gallery.
Thanks for starting this thread!
I have been an art lover for as long as I can remember. I acquired my first Picasso (Yes, that Picasso. No, not an original!), when I was a little girl on one of the many jaunts my mother and I took from Queens into Manhattan. Knowing my mother, we were probably at Bonwit Teller or Bloomingdales or Bergdorf’s, and there it was on a large, round table filled with trinkets and other small gifts: a wooden rectangular block, smaller than a paperback, with two hands surrounding a bouquet of flowers on a white background. How simple, elegant, and beautiful. I just had to have it. That Picasso hung in my bedroom for years and years, and has since hung in every apartment and home I have lived in. I don't think it cost more than $15. Now, it hangs among a house full of original art – some pieces very affordable, others that cost quite a bit.
It is a love affair, really. Monoprints, oils, guaches, mixed media, even a watercolor here and there. My partner and I have an agreement: we both have to love it, before we decide to buy it. We do not fret about where it is going to go (although we always have fun figuring that out). I’m guilty of having aspirational pieces in mind – artists we can’t quite afford just yet, or pieces owned by someone else (Pfizer has a painting by artist Asunta Sera that I must have!).
But, like many of you, it is not about cost or status. It is about the Collection and the collecting; surrounding ourselves with powerful imagery and supporting the artists who have ways of telling stories that sing. Every day. Every single day, I notice a new angle or element I hadn’t seen before in pieces we’ve had for years. How exciting is that?