The Art of Collecting

[SuE]

Psychological discussion aside...does anyone here want to answer the OPs questions? Do any of you guys collect anything besides clothing?

The elephant in the room is the ongoing digitization of media. Almost everyone has a music collection but it's probably in iTunes not in vinyl on a shelf. I'd like to collect more art books but honestly sometimes choose to the iPad app version instead.

[malaesthetique]

Aside from my own personal interest in Japanese culture in general, I use that country's approach to aesthetics as my primary example for a few different reasons, none having to do with human/civil rights and/or the nation's martial history (which themselves are worthy of another thread entirely).

Firstly, I would establish as my beachhead that the Japanese approach to aesthetics is certainly one of the most sophisticated and nuanced amongst world cultures, with the philosophical and material groundings dating back centuries and coming to their full realization during the Edo period when the island nation developed in almost complete isolation from the rest of the world. Shintoism, Buddhism, Bushido and the samurai, the tea ceremony, the concept of wabi-sabi, Zen, etc., though introduced much earlier, really took hold and became entrenched during this period.

The tendency in the West is to pigeonhole art forms, hence we have folk art, outsider art, street art, etc. as so-called "lowbrow" or lower art forms with the implied unsophistication. There is another distinction made between art and craft, with the implication there that if an object was created for utilitarian purposes (i.e. without conceptual merit) then it can only be appreciated as a decorative object - it lacks the "power" of a work of art. In Japan such distinctions are not made and in fact, there apparently is no separate word for art and craft, as we know it (Japanese speakers correct me if I'm wrong here). Thus, the Japanese appreciate and value a simple tea ceremony cup (of course, using their standards of judgement) with the same veneration as a masterpiece scroll or painting. The concept of wabi-sabi is another good example of an extremely sophisticated, nuanced philosophy and aesthetic approach which is unique to Japan. And don't get me started on the whole cult of the samurai and their own aesthetic lifestyle. Japan is also the only culture in the world that honours "Living National Treasures", who can be swordmakers, lacquer box artisans or simple woodcarvers as well as painters, calligraphers, etc.

Then there is the distinction between art and product. In the West, we bristle at the thought that these two descriptors can exist in the same sentence, much less in the same object. It's no surprise that an artist like Takashi Murakami, whose work oscillates so frequently between the two supposedly disparate worlds, comes out of Japan. He himself has said that he makes no such distinction with his work.

Japanese people accept that art and commerce will be blended; and in fact they are surprised by the rigid and pretentious Western hierarchy of "High Art". In the west, it's certainly dangerous to blend the two, because people will throw all sorts of stones. But that's okay - I'm ready with my hard hat.

I've spent some time in Japan, speak the language to a functional degree, and studied comparative philosophy with East/West faculty here in Honolulu. The major work done by the department was identifying parallels between marginal strains of western thought and "eastern values" while being extra careful not to conflate the differences. Culture is always in flux and never monolithic, and although Japan was was at one point geographically very isolated they have for a long time now been a cosmopolitan people. Your belief in the radical particularity and exclusivity of their aesthetic system is homologous to how blood purity ideology is used to oppress subalterns living in Japan (Zainichi, Burakumin, Ainu, etc). Lets not pretend that Japan is some sort of hermetically sealed aesthetic paradise or a peaceful non-hierarchical space. I think you might benefit from a postcolonial perspective on Japanese aesthetics.

In regards to the OP, the only tangible objects I collect or had collected up until the fire included the following:

Clothes
Books
LPs
Cassettes
Badges from tradeshows: Tranoi, Coterie
Invites from Runway shows 2008-2010: Rick, Damir, Dries, KKA, VB, etc
All other collateral from my time as a buyer (look books, Amagazine volumes, etc)

Thanks to http://aaaarg.org I can recover many of the texts I used to have, albeit in pdf form. The rarer music I can try to find on soulseek, but I really did enjoy having first pressings and feeling like I owned a piece of history from when it was being made. I feel the same way about the earlier Rick pieces I had. This quote from the Benjamin essay really resonated with me:

“To renew the old world—that is the collector’s deepest desire when he is driven to acquire new things, and that is why a collector of old books is closer to the wellsprings of collecting than the acquirer of luxury editions.”

[malaesthetique]

The elephant in the room is the ongoing digitization of media. Almost everyone has a music collection but it's probably in iTunes not in vinyl on a shelf. I'd like to collect more art books but honestly sometimes choose to the iPad app version instead.

A critical insight. Humans are easier to control if they aren't weighed down by material possessions. A necessary technological stage in the movement from post-fordist flexible manufacturing systems to flexible human management systems. The less we have, the easier we are to circulate and deploy according to the needs of trimmer and leaner business models. This is the foundation of a politics of collecting.

[Shogun8]

I've spent some time in Japan, speak the language to a functional degree, and studied comparative philosophy with East/West faculty here in Honolulu. The major work done by the department was identifying parallels between marginal strains of western thought and "eastern values" while being extra careful not to conflate the differences. Culture is always in flux and never monolithic, and although Japan was was at one point geographically very isolated they have for a long time now been a cosmopolitan people. Your belief in the radical particularity and exclusivity of their aesthetic system is homologous to how blood purity ideology is used to oppress subalterns living in Japan (Zainichi, Burakumin, Ainu, etc). Lets not pretend that Japan is some sort of hermetically sealed aesthetic paradise or a peaceful non-hierarchical space. I think you might benefit from a postcolonial perspective on Japanese aesthetics.

This quote from the Benjamin essay really resonated with me:

“To renew the old world—that is the collector’s deepest desire when he is driven to acquire new things, and that is why a collector of old books is closer to the wellsprings of collecting than the acquirer of luxury editions.”

I am clearly in over my head academically in these discussions, having no post-secondary academic experience in any of the relevant topics (unless various business and leisure trips to the country and personal studies on the samurai culture count), but please do not put words in my mouth, malaesthetique. Although I'm probably guilty of romanticizing the aesthetic culture to some degree, I do not pretend that it is a society without (many) problems: social, economic; demographic; and so on. As well, I would say that Japan in the period which I was referring, was certainly more than just geographically isolated - they intentionally separated themselves politically, strategically, economically and culturally. And I would have to say that perhaps you're guilty of a little romanticizing and contradiction yourself by saying that they are a cosmopolitan people and in the next sentence referring to their (well-known) "blood purity ideology" and suppression of indigenous peoples. Japan as a nation though cosmopolitan in its consumer taste and sensibilities, certainly could not be called cosmopolitan socially. In any event, my admiration of the Japanese aesthetic (amongst other things about the culture I admire), rightly or wrongly has nothing to do with any thoughts at all about things like racial homogeneity or xenophobia, much like my admiration of German engineering and automobiles has nothing to do with my dislike of that country's martial past. You're right in saying that I do regard the so-called Japanese aesthetic as my own personal ideal. Just my taste.

Regardless, respect for your opinion.

I also fully agree with the quote from the Benjamin essay. That one resonated with me as well.

[Dorje]

I think collecting could be a perversion of our survival instinct, in which case it could be innate or the perversion could be caused by environmental factors.

In any case, I have never wanted to collect anything, it seems like a waste of resources to own things which are not frequently used.

The only thing that might be considered a collection are my vacuum tubes, but I do use them in my vacuum tube amplifiers and they are also an investment as most are decades old and their value is appreciating. I do have far more vacuum tubes than I really need.

I do not collect clothing, I get rid of what I don't wear...

[malaesthetique]

Didn't intend to put words in your mouth, but I do feel that the aesthetics and ideology of a culture are in many ways mutually constituted and that the picture you presented needed to be further complicated. Cosmopolitan was perhaps too strong of a word--international would have sufficed and I probably shouldn't have referred to them as "a people," as if the are undivided.

In either case your passion for certain aspects of Japanese aesthetics clearly runs deep, but I don't agree that it is without hierarchical distinctions as we have in the west. They just discriminate along different axes of value. Personally I would rather have more divisions and distinctions--as many as possible--to generate new ways of looking and contest institutionalized or nationally enshrined forms.

[galia]

I try not to collect anything. All my worldly posessions fit in a small single room appartment, with litte storage space.

I'd like to keep it that way, even though I fear moving to a large house might make me complacent. I appreciate the collector's mindset and I like knowing about / seeing other people's collections (especially if they are of a more wunderkamer variety), but I just don't have that bone in me.

My grandmother tried to get me into stamp collecting when I was a kid, and even then I didn't really find it that interesting. I did love hearing stories about valuable stamps other people had though. I guess I'm fairly content to live vicariously in this respect (and probably in many other aspects of life, I'm sorry to say)

[Shogun8]

In either case your passion for certain aspects of Japanese aesthetics clearly runs deep, but I don't agree that it is without hierarchical distinctions as we have in the west. They just discriminate along different axes of value. Personally I would rather have more divisions and distinctions--as many as possible--to generate new ways of looking and contest institutionalized or nationally enshrined forms.

True enough.

[malaesthetique]

I think collecting could be a perversion of our survival instinct, in which case it could be innate or the perversion could be caused by environmental factors.

In any case, I have never wanted to collect anything, it seems like a waste of resources to own things which are not frequently used.

The only thing that might be considered a collection are my vacuum tubes, but I do use them in my vacuum tube amplifiers and they are also an investment as most are decades old and their value is appreciating. I do have far more vacuum tubes than I really need.

I do not collect clothing, I get rid of what I don't wear...

I knew there had to be some transhumanists among us here.

Since we are going down the equally reductive evolutionary biology route, Dawkins might say something like the following: although wasteful collecting habits are a possible detriment to our motility and survival, these affectations may assist in sexual selection our increase our odds of gene survival. After all, I'm such a fit mate that I can wastefully expend my resources on flashy material wealth. Predators wont waste their time targeting me and females will want to mate with me.

[LelandJ]

I collect records. Originally peaked around 5,000, sold them all as I outgrew the music. Gained another 2,000, which having lay dormant for some years I'm now selling all off, again outgrew the music. My current new/recent collection, which I'm confident will be permanent, of less than a few years is less than 600 records.

I spent countless thousands hours of my life, more than any other single activity by far, researching, digging, archiving, contributing to published discographies. Letting go of both collections was/is a liberating experience, basically admitting to myself I didn't know what I was really looking for and spent enormous energy in the process. I gained pertinent collecting and business skills/contacts along the way but the realizations themselves I wouldn't wish on anyone.

[Shogun8]

Also bonsaï, that's recent, but I already know it's going to grow big.

Would love to see some of your bonsai. I have a small collection of suiseki.

[Dorje]

I knew there had to be some transhumanists among us here.

Since we are going down the equally reductive evolutionary biology route, Dawkins might say something like the following: although wasteful collecting habits are a possible detriment to our motility and survival, these affectations may assist in sexual selection our increase our odds of gene survival. After all, I'm such a fit mate that I can wastefully expend my resources on flashy material wealth. Predators wont waste their time targeting me and females will want to mate with me.

I'm definitely not a transhumanist. It's an interesting idea, but being Buddhist, I don't see death as a bad thing and I don't think there's any value in achieving transhumanist goals.

I disagree with your assertion that collecting would attract women, in fact the opposite. If collecting is based on fear of scarcity then it would come across as unattractive to women, and possibly odd or like a fetish. Based on my own observations, I have never experienced anyone's collections of anything attracting women as a general rule... unless it's collections of houses, cars or yachts. Or she may have a shared interest in your pez dispensers...

[LelandJ]

Speaking personally collecting's primarily about the value of experiencing cultural history rather than fear. Collectors definitely recognize the scarcity of what they collect though. Some recordings I know I'll never be able to acquire because only one copy was ever made and they reside in national archives, so unfortunately digital transfers will be the only way to hear them.

[Faust]

I collect records. Originally peaked around 5,000, sold them all as I outgrew the music. Gained another 2,000, which having lay dormant for some years I'm now selling all off, again outgrew the music. My current new/recent collection, which I'm confident will be permanent, of less than a few years is less than 600 records.

I spent countless thousands hours of my life, more than any other single activity by far, researching, digging, archiving, contributing to published discographies. Letting go of both collections was/is a liberating experience, basically admitting to myself I didn't know what I was really looking for and spent enormous energy in the process. I gained pertinent collecting and business skills/contacts along the way but the realizations themselves I wouldn't wish on anyone.

It's good to admit that taste is an experience in flux and maturation. I've grown to like designers I used to not like and vice versa. What I don't understand are people who cry foul when they see your taste change, as if a person is some kind of a monolithic creation.

[Faust]

I disagree with your assertion that collecting would attract women, in fact the opposite. If collecting is based on fear of scarcity then it would come across as unattractive to women, and possibly odd or like a fetish. Based on my own observations, I have never experienced anyone's collections of anything attracting women as a general rule... unless it's collections of houses, cars or yachts. Or she may have a shared interest in your pez dispensers...

Based on my own observations, I must agree. Women want you to spend money on them, the cushy nest they want to create and on the progeny they want you to have with them. Anything that satisfies you and you alone is a waste of money and makes you some kind of an irresponsible child in their eyes.

I think malaesthetique was tongue in cheek though.