How Collecting Art Can Change Your Life – a True Story The classic story of contemporary art collectors is that of Herbert and Dorothy Vogel, a decidedly middle class Manhattan couple who have been avidly collecting the most avant-garde art of their time for the past 35 years. Herbert is a retired postal clerk who made at the most $16,000 a year. Dorothy is a librarian. In 1965, they befriended the important conceptual artist Sol LeWitt, and after his first show, bought their first piece of art. They now have over 100 works by LeWitt. Early on they decided to use Herb’s salary for collecting and Dorothy’s to live on, and over the intervening years, have amassed a collection of over 1500 pieces by the most important artists of the 70’s and 80’s.
Totally unassuming, short – Herb is 5 feet and Dorothy slightly taller – and notably frumpy, they have become the darlings of the art world. The objects that cram their tiny one-bedroom apartment – under the bed, hanging from the ceiling, etc, – reflect a prodigious intellectual journey and the creation of a specific sensibility that gives each individual piece in their collection more power than it would have on its own. The collection is its own work of art because it creates a context; a specific time in contemporary art, and reflects a specific idea of what art can be. The art world is their life. The Vogels were not content just to buy the art, but befriended the artists of their time and gave them unstinting emotional support. They attend all the gallery openings, exhibitions and events. They have made the art world their home. In a particularly touching tribute, they were crowned King and Queen of the Art World in a ceremony at PS1, a non-profit avant-garde art space in New York. So, for the Vogels the art world has enriched their lives – visually, intellectually and socially – and a rich life it is on $16,000 a year.

It was made pretty clear to me that the students who pay to take these classes are usually serious artists, so there is no need to to be nervous, as there would almost never be any lewd comments or crazy looks from students, which makes perfect sense.

After the newness of the experience wears off you’ll find yourself getting bored and your body aching from the posing. Your body will start to ache because no one is used to sitting or standing for an hour at a time in one position. You’ll get an occasional break now and then but then you’ll return to taking the same position. Until your body becomes used to not moving for so long you may experience cramps (if sitting) or muscle twitches (if standing).

It would be prudent to start practicing posing in awkward positions so that your body can become used to doing it before you actually start posing in class.

It’s not likely that you’ll actually be picking the position you’ll be posing in because the teacher will usually be selecting or suggesting the poses with you in advance because the teacher will be wanting the poses that will best benefit the learning process. Beginning classes: simple poses. Advanced art classes: more complex poses.

As for the boredom, there is no fix for that. It may be smart to learn some exercises that help clear your mind and sort of stand there or sit there as if in an awakening sleep mode.

I suggest trying some Hermetic meditation practices, or some Taoist Yogic techniques….

I learned about this on wikipedia….I never thought about it like that, but being a musician I was able to see the parallels and abruptly agree.

“Hey Mr/Mrs/Ms Artist,What is that supposed to be?”… sound vaguely familiar?

I’m pretty sure that many artists have heard this phrase or one similar to it upon showing a completed artwork. This has happened many times to many artists the world round. Perhaps it was said towards an abstract piece or a short poem on an odd backdrop… whichever way it was done, some just don’t seem to ‘get it’. What ‘it’ am I talking about? The ‘it’ that does not exist. When an artist opens up a program on a computer, grabs a pencil or paintbrush, or just doodles on their history notes in class, they need neither reason, explanation, nor accountability. What they create is for their purpose in portraying what it is that they want to portray.

So what’s with the big ordeal? Many people want art to depict that which is understandable, acceptable, or normal. They don’t want to see pictures of vulgarity, death, or things they don’t recognize. To think that an artwork must have a reason to look a certain way is just freakin’ stupid!. To expect artists to only draw happy situations or to draw things they see everyday is annoying. There are those in life that look at art and only see what’s wrong with it. They are the ones that think all art should look the same: have a pretty picture that appeals to ‘me’. Then there are those that look at art and see what the artist wanted to portray and not what ‘you’ (the viewer) want. I once was the first guy… even as a young musician, I would see art, judge it quickly, and dismiss it. Now I look at the same thing and see all the work put into it. I see the brush strokes, the texture of each object, the lighting, the detail and time put into it.

An artist that truly believes in self-expression will not conform to the demands of others on how to express one’s self. I’m not saying that an artist shouldn’t listen to advise of others. They just shouldn’t change their style based on negative comments of what it is they depicted. Telling someone what to draw and how to draw are two different things. There should never be a set way on what art should be. If there was… it wouldn’t be art.

Art’s purpose is not to ‘imitate life’ (as I have heard), nor is it to lighten up a room. It is to show a feeling the artist wanted to get across to others, or it could be to just to show a way of expression. For those that can appreciate it, art will give them that satisfaction. For artists who can make it, art will give them a far greater sense of worth. For those that understand, no explanation of art is needed. For those that don’t understand, no explanation of art is possible. Art is not something to always be understood… just appreciated. To artists, they need no words to describe their feeling because they’ve already used their language of choice… art.