Collecting in Austin
By Paul McLean, in Proxy*
As Gleened from
An Esay of thots on Colectings of Disernable Arts of the Eyes Hand & Spirits
By Tommy Robbins
Los Feliz, Los Angeles, CALI, USA
*BEGASH, & so forth. Paul offered me Dodgers playoff tickets to take this screed off his hands. I guess he’s in flagrante delicto this week with a bella from San Jose, whose identity I’m sworn to secret (though I’ll divulge this detail: her Italian surname means “Check her out! And she’s characteristic of her name.) Dirty lucky bastard… I got nothin’ on the table, except a bad case of gout, so - what the hell - I took the gig. – TR
When I turned twenty-five and got serious about collecting fine art, I turned to my good friend Milo Santini, the internationally renowned underground painter, also affectionately known out West as the “Laundromat Artslinger.” In case you’ve been living under a mossy artless rock for the past quarter century, you know that Milo got his name & fame by hanging his cut-board pictures only in laundromats, first in and around Santa Fe, then across the USA, then internationally. Once the Big Time Playas caught wind of Milo’s “major new talent” & whatnot, you could always find an intrepid dealer or collector snooping around your local laundry shop, searching for Milo’s quirky but poignant renderings or the man, himself (who’s known by face to only a few of us.) Anyhoo, Milo shows with Gago now, or somebody like that, but his angle was pure genius.
The following is my recollection of his Art Collector’s Manifesto, which I think was commissioned by the Dia Foundation, or somesuch.
Why We BUY (Art) BY MILO*
*He always signs his shit in big letters, “MILO,” & cynical types like Jack Spencer claim that’s the only reason Milo got famous, because of the “O” at the end (as in Picasso, Miro & so on). –TR
Art is hope. I make Art that will live longer than I will. If you are looking at it in 2264 AD, if humanity is still humane, you will know that in 1995 (the year this Manifesto was composed. –TR), a human being made something with his hand, the result of seeing the world through the lens of the eyes, all the way to his heart, which talked to you through the hand. & You can Understand what they said together! Through your eyes, to your heart, reminding you of your hand, you can Understand this! & You will Realize that our dear friend Death loses his power to make you Afraid, if just for a moment, that he cannot Convince you, for a moment, that there is no point to doing beautiful things, seeing beautiful things, feeling beauty, or making a beautiful thing with the hand! Art makes Death Generous! If you decide to buy my Art, you are committing to protect it for your lifetime, & to pass it along, Intact, to the next generations. To demonstrate your willingness to be a part of this process, you will Purchase the Art (which is, in Truth, only a renter’s fee). Hopefully, you will Purchase the Art from a person who Understands that the dealer is but a Facilitator for the exchange between Artist & Caretaker. The dealer should therefore be such a person that would NEVER cheat an Artist, or defraud a Caretaker. NEVER! The Facilitator should be one who is happy, humble & proud to be an accomplice in the Artist objectifying HOPE, and the finding of a HOME for Hope (which is the Caretaker’s Home), so that friend Death can be made Generous by us little Human Beings of Today, for the Little Human Beings of Today who will come after we are gone on.
The Caretaker, the Artist, the Facilitator, we must all be asking ourselves these Questions: WHAT IS ART? WHO IS AN ARTIST? The Caretaker asks the Artist & Facilitator. They, in turn, should always be honest with their Answers. If they don’t know the Answers, they should say so. At this point in History, we have many Documents of Answers by Artists, Facilitators, and Caretakers. Many Trees & things have given their Lives, so that a Record of Answers is available to us, to help us. In fact, some people have felt a Calling to protect & maintain those Records, for us. I call them lovingly, the Stewards. They are accomplices, too, & we can ask them to Answer the Questions.
BEWARE those who would TELL you the Answer! You hopefully Understand Freedom, & live someplace where It’s cherished. In a Free place, you are Free to ask lots of Questions, and it’s best to ask the Important Ones Again & AGAIN! WHAT IS ART? WHO IS AN ARTIST? These are important Questions. The more you ask them, the more you Comprehend Why.
Until you have your very OWN Answer to the Questions, try to Discern whether the person you ask the Questions is telling you an Answer that was given to him or her by whomever, & this person swallowed it dumbly, for whatever reason, or whether this person (Artist, Facilitator, Caretaker, Steward, Family Member, Spiritual Advisor, Stranger, ETC,) dedicated some serious Effort to surmising his or her very OWN Answer. After some practice, the Discernment should emerge. Remember: Art Purchasing is the opposite, say, of buying a car. For example, when you buy a car, usually the last thing you care about is the Color & Artifice. You first consider your budget, the car’s manufacture, its safety features, its longevity, its technological currency, its reputation, how nice your girlfriend or boyfriend will look in the passenger seat, etc.; THEN you consider the car’s Color & Artifice. Buying a car is 90% practicality & 10% Juiciness. Purchasing Art is 90% Juiciness & 10% practicality! By “Juiciness,” I mean LOVE, I mean HUMANITY, I mean tears of JOY, PLEASURE, KINDNESS, COMPASSION, SURVIVAL, STRENGTH, WILLINGNESS, GRATITUDE and on and on.
The most important Thing to Remember is this: EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO CARETAKE ART. If some asshole makes you feel like you’re stupid or not worthy or that your Art Love is shamefully misguided or somesuch, I submit that you have a Free Pass to smack the asshole, or at the very least NEVER invite him or her to dinner again.
Lastly, when you are deciding whether to Purchase a piece of Art, ask yourself: Does this Art help me see this World, which is Paradise, more Clearly? Does it Echo the Dreaming? Do I feel Stronger, Smarter, Healthier, more Creative, Sexier, when I peer into its “Heart?” Does it have a Story that is unequivocally True? Or, at the least for the Artist who made it, is this Artwork Answering the Questions WHAT IS ART? WHO IS AN ARTIST? Does it give me Hope? & Most IMPORTANT of All: What will it say to my Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great Grandchild?
I LOVE YOU,
MILO
PS
I am always asking myself, WHAT IS ART? & AM I AN ARTIST?
Commentary
From what I hear in Los Feliz (& What the Heck does I know, & when did I know it?): Buying art in Austin isn’t hard. Money spends in Texas as well as anywhere, if not better (according to the Fortune 500, which says the state boasts more top companies than any other). It’s finding art to buy in Austin that’s problematic (see below). Another thing that’s relatively problematic in Austin is finding the courageous individual who’s not afraid to invest hard-earned cash in fine art, which is pinnacle-of-the-pyramid Free Speech. Nowadays, that’s true almost everywhere in the good ole USA, so don’t take it personally. As it stands, it’s up to you, O artsy, to establish a network of resources to rely upon as you build a mighty collection of art, which is to say, as you actively support cultural growth in your community & in your own home.
If you need to be convinced that fine art is relevant to your town’s overall health, there are some strong arguments available on the web that paint a picture of the vital role the arts play in Austin’s economy, in shaping the city’s hometown identity, and in developing Austin’s future as an American destination. I found some useful information by Googling “Austin Texas art sales statistics”. You might also research the Texas Arts Commission, Austin’s Art in Public Places program, and visit Austin’s “In the Galleries” website. Don’t forget: some of these folks are your employees, & it’s their job (which they take seriously in some cases, & approach passionately in some fewer) to help you in your quest.
For an introduction to your local resources and a summary of an important more or less recent study of local cultural value, go to http://www.window.state.tx.us/comptrol/fnotes/fn0107/fn.html#economic and read “Economic Masterpiece.”
Here’s a sample from that study:
The findings are quite remarkable. When examined on a sufficiently comprehensive basis, their implications are unambiguous. The arts are fundamental to the economy and a key component of the entire production chain. They are central to the creative elements of virtually every industry and, thus, a catalyst to growth and innovation, extending well beyond even the levels depicted in this broad-spectrum analysis.
From “The Catalyst for Creativity and the Incubator for Progress: The Arts, Culture, and the Texas Economy,” Prepared as a Public Service by M. RAY PERRYMAN, The Perryman Group
Another sample from another, more recent, study (one of several by TXP since the millennial turn, which paint a picture of Austin’s cultural scene with statistics and commentaries):
The role of the cultural sector in Austin’s economy is significant, with just over $2.25 billion in economic activity, $827.7 million in labor compensation, over $48 million in City tax revenues, and almost 44,000 permanent jobs that can be ascribed to its collective influence during 2004. Not surprisingly, the economic impact of the cultural sector is most evident in tourism; as the Live Music Capital of the World, there are a number of high profile events each year that draw thousands, as well as several major film festivals. On any given weekend, those in Austin (residents and visitors) can take part in a wide variety of cultural activities that extend well beyond these high-profile events to theatre productions, gallery openings, food festivals, rodeos, and other offerings that fall under the broad heading of “cultural events.” As a result, “retail arts,” i.e., those offerings designed to be experienced first-hand, are a dominant influence on Austin’s cultural scene.
The Role of the Cultural Sector in the Local Economy: 2005 UPDATE
City of Austin, Texas
Why would I say that finding art in Austin is problematic? That’s another story, which will ask “Why doesn’t Austin have an Artist’s Registry? & Why are there more good dedicated contemporary art retail galleries in Marfa, with its population of roughly 2,500 people, than in Austin, with its million or so residents? & Does keeping Austin weird also entail willfully neglecting Austin’s Fine Art? & Who benefits from suppressing the “voice” of Austin’s most vital Free Speechers?”
Til then,
-TR
