xoxoxo_I_miss_you

Tue, 5 Aug 2008 15:23:52 +0200

Lara Schwimmer
Seattle Central Library, Children’s, 2004
Edition 1/10
c-print
24 x 30 inches

Ich vermisse dich. This is one of the pieces of my art collection that is still in the States and I miss it desperately. The work has a calming feeling like a warm bubble bath, vanilla and honey scented. Whenever feeling anxiety, I turned to this piece, so it was always at work hanging in front or next to me. My offices changed regularly therefore it hung on a several types of walls: green, red brick and white sterile. Living with your art collection is an important lesson to learn. When hung on the sage green wall, the piece felt strange, broken, lost. It felt warm and cozy on the red brick wall (drilling the holes into the brick was an absolute bitch). When hung in the gallery, it looked stark, architectural and lonely. It’s best home was in the sterile, insane office in NYC because it served as a shield from the negativity around me. Like Superman’s cape. Now it is in storage at my mother’s house, hanging in my old room. It looks completely ridiculous because the room is decorated with Victorian antiques - my mother is an antique collector (Der Apfel fällt nicht weit vom Stamm). It’s like a battle of the wills and I’m afraid the Victorian white/pink frilly explosion is too powerful for this one, lonely contemporary piece.

I love this piece because...
it’s my therapist, sheltering me from the harshness of this world.

Welcome_to_my_blog

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 17:25:47 +0200

Many clients are curious to hear about my personal art collection. The goal of this blog is to talk about my art collection, living with and without my collection, and to write about the work that I would like to acquire. I’ve put a lot of thought into the order of entries - should I start writing about my first piece, then the second and so on? That’s far too orderly and boring for my synchronistic approach to life, therefore the order will be random. Most of my collection is still in the States. The only pieces I brought to Germany were the ones that I flew inside my suitcases (which reminds me of the piece that was damaged when I carried it on a flight returning to the States from Europe. I cried pretty much the entire 8 hour flight. Those who know me know that I’m not a big cryer, but some things are worthy of a good hysterical cry...in this case, a magical still life). My first summer in Germany was funny because I didn’t have any summer clothes - none, nada, keine. I chose to pack artwork instead of clothing. I’ll begin the blog with the piece that I desperately miss. Not a day goes by without thinking about this piece. Odd, it’s a photo (my heart usually lies with painting). I’m not a big fan right now of collecting photography for myself, but I went through a 2-year period a few years ago where I only collected photography. Thomas - maybe this is the reason I’m pushing you so hard to move into other media.

Should I write in English oder auf Deutsch? Schwer zu sagen. I suppose we’ll have to see what happens. I feel like I should write in German, but it’s so much easier to convey exactly what I wish in English.

Another word about my approach to art collecting. The only rule is to buy what I love. The rule varies by collector. For example, Diane and Bruce Halle focus on work from a certain place - Latin America. In the most recent issue of ARTnews, Diane Halle said “a work has to be museum quality. It has to fit in with what has already been established in our collection. However, we are now focusing on the 21st century, and there are no rules there. It’s wide-open.” Source: ARTnews, The ARTnews 200 Top Collectors, Diane Halle (interview), author Sarah H. Bayliss, Summer 2008.

I am always looking at my art, greeting it as if it were a friend, moving it from room to room depending on my mood. Example -- Paratrooper Woody, 2007, Joan Hiller, mixed on wood -- was just moved from the ceiling in the living room (get it? He was hanging from the ceiling preparing for his next top-secret mission) to the table beside my bed because I would like to look at him more closely. I took a picture of his new location to send to the artist. Sometimes artists like to hear about the life of their artwork when it leaves the studio. There is a lot of breeze in the bedroom so Paratrooper Woody falls down a lot, thank goodness he’s painted on wood panel. What makes me love a piece? It changes with time so I’ll provide an explanation for most pieces.

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