The lack of space in my room that I used to study forces me to operate in the most uncomfortable positions with ancient works of stone and clay that I have a small collection.
Freud. “Of war and death”, in complete works. Volume XIV, pp. 280-289.
Dedicated to: My first reader of my writings, in his own hand, who knows if a collector of such items.
In recent days I have found with other types of reading and application of knowledge in aesthetics and art history. New at least for me. It happens that the approach and treatment that I have given on the study of art is hermeneutic and teratology. And now I am in another facet.
More than argumentative and reflective, I am entering this world through literary readings from the boom that occurred years ago with the phenomenon of “Da Vinci Code”, which is touched among other things, such as disrupting religious dogmas iconographic interpretations a bit hurried, reasons prompting the character in question to collect this or that particular work. To do this there are several theses.
Among the most common are that the acquisition of a work of art reflects a financial strategy of “payback” sometimes accompanied by admiration for the artist, or a refined aesthetic taste. Surely there are other reasons, and even questionable arguments like the existence of black market and its implications such as the forgery of a work of art or “overvaluation” in the same currency.
There are libraries that try to accomplish other tasks as it is to safeguard the integrity of the work. That is the noblest function of museums. O educate the public through exhibitions to anyone who wants to enrich their aesthetic enjoyment, that is the central purpose of the galleries.
Reasons, there are several, to justify what is collecting. Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, collected small sculptures for his project and to focus their thoughts and translate them into their unique works. And it is through and by Freud and his works from Andre Breton’s collection of readings on psychoanalysis that emerged the “surrealism” as he argues in his famous inline manifest.
The idea of collecting that promotes art writer and scholar, Teresa Del Conde, appeals to me while I am concerned, as can happen before a work of art, roughly quote:
“Collecting is an addiction such that, as is well known, has led to suicide a few people who have been deprived of precious objects. The loss of object is identified here with the loss of meaning of life.”
The hobby, or professional, of collecting every human being it is implicit in their very being. It is thus part of nature and human condition. Whoever fails to save somewhere previously assigned and inaccessible to others (I refer, of course, hide and seek), somewhat unique objects: they can be stones in that thanks to our imagination we give a symbolic significance : we find a shape and a unique value.
Stones, cords, appliance parts, old magazines, pieces of wood … anything that allows us to develop our sense of belonging and attachment. And then invite us to develop and promote through play, our imagination.
And on the other hand, the space allocated for the distribution and arrangement of our treasured possessions, certainly allows us, among other things, connect us with our immediate reality. Moreover, we can develop our creativity, “dimensional” because the arrangement is not merely due to immediate impulses in the background, justification of it entails a very particular visual speech: through the objects, or works of art; developed a visual document that projects your personality and character along with the ever-changing artistic wealth.
In short: Collecting allows us through objects, build our own being, aesthetically speaking.
Which is your collection?
