Take It from a Collector:A beginner’s guide to buying art

By Jean M. McLean  –  photos by Cary Norton

Although Birmingham is blessed with artists, crafters and experts on historic collectibles ranging from arrowheads to appliques, many residents aren’t sure how to acquire and display art in their own homes.

So they fill bare walls with mass-produced paintings that match the sofa.
Those who treasure art don’t necessarily disapprove. They merely say those owners might be missing something. Handmade objects can tell multiple stories — from how-where-why they were crafted to how-where-why they were acquired.

Art doesn’t have to match the sofa, they say. It merely has to enrich someone’s life.

That’s why art collecting needn’t be an intimidating process, says Dan Bynum, a contemporary Alabama artist who is also an Alabama Power communications specialist. Since Bynum’s professional responsibilities extend to the utility’s Alabama art collection inventory and biannual art shows, his colleagues often seek his advice for filling their own empty walls.

Juried events like those hosted at Alabama Power’s Birmingham headquarters provide purchasing and learning opportunities, says Bynum. He advises friends not to be intimidated, but to rely on what they like, taking time to learn not only about the work, but the artist behind it.

“It’s so subjective as to what is good and bad art. But if it talks to you or brings back a memory, then that’s when you pop on it. That’s when you buy that piece. The piece should speak to you. You may be far off-base from what the artist was communicating, but you see something that strikes a chord in you.”

From pottery to paintings, blankets to baskets, sculptures to switch plates, Birmingham’s juried shows, galleries, museums, festivals, studios and sidewalks offer wide-ranging opportunities for anyone who wants to own something that’s not mass produced.

The good news, Bynum says, is that those pieces aren’t always expensive.
“Student art shows are a great outlet,” says Bynum of first-buyer venues ranging from the Alabama School of Fine Arts to local universities. “Those are great places for the new collector to jump into the arena and buy art.”

Some media — including photography and some folk art — may be affordable even when crafted by established artists.

Bynum also suggests visiting local events such as those organized by Eileen Kunzman, founder and director of Fine Art Services, which produces Magic City Art Connection (April 25-27) and Moss Rock Festival, held each November. Such venues not only offer a wide variety of art media, but opportunities to meet artists and ask questions about pieces or processes, Kunzman says.
“There is always a story, some point of motivation. The artist is all about sharing everything they know. They love that.”

A buyer learning the how-why of collage construction through an artist conversation at an open air show still might not purchase the piece. But that buyer will better understand collage art. And that understanding will influence what the buyer eventually decides to take home.

“What you live with might be different from what you admire,” Bynum says. “The more exhibits you see, the more your style and taste develop. You find what you like and don’t like.”

“I think a person becomes interested and they start having this enthusiasm and they almost treat this thing that they’re feeling like it’s a treasure hunt,” says Kunzman of the process of discovery. “They have a deep curiosity about something, about how beautiful it is.”

Many collectors start with vacation purchases, since those works evoke happy memories. Others find a specific artist they admire. If they can’t afford that artist’s finished piece, they might buy a charcoal sketch that served as an “outline” while the work was in process. 

Accomplished potters might sell slightly flawed cast-offs at a discount. For some owners, those flaws add to their value.

“And you can buy etchings that are hand pulled and numbered,” says Bynum of affordable options. “Most artists will keep a low edition number. That’s a great way to get an original piece.”

Some collectors seek handmade clocks or fountain pens, Kunzman says.

The more an owner learns about his or her passion and those who created those objects, the more joy those items bring. For the true collector, art enrichment is not about profitable resale, but about the stories each item evokes, from grandma’s wool quilt to an oil of a Lake Martin sunrise.

“Art, for me, is just about that moment of creation,” says Kunzman. “And it could be anything — from the most beautiful car to the design of a shoelace or the fork you use every day. Art is everywhere. It’s not relegated purely to a painting. If, in fact, you begin to see life as an art form and creativity as something that has touched everyone’s life, then approaching a painting becomes less formidable.”    

One Collector’s Process
Margaret Alexander says her No.-1 rule for acquiring art is to “collect what I absolutely love.”

But there is more to this Birmingham collector’s appreciation than emotional attachment. She explains her approach to the process.

“Currently my husband and I are collecting contemporary art. Twenty years ago we were collecting wooden hand-painted carvings from Oaxaca, Mexico. I was introduced to the carvings by a friend. They were bright, colorful, fanciful and happy. I loved them immediately and bought one. Every time I visited my friend we would go to the gallery and buy a carving.”

Like other serious collectors, Alexander’s art appreciation extended to the artists and their processes. She began studying books on Oaxaca or alebrijes Mexican folk art. She met an author of one of those books at an Atlanta exhibition.

Alexander learned to choose designs by originating carvers, rather than artists copying others’ successful designs. She started making a wish list of items. Eventually she approached the owner of the New Orleans gallery she frequented, asking him to acquire specific items on her list.

“Next I asked the New Orleans gallery owner if I could go with him to Oaxaca on his next buying trip. We were there for five days in the pueblos.
This led to even more purchases, and I was able to meet every one of the carvers I had collected. It was so much fun.”

Although Alexander’s initial efforts at collecting Oaxacan figures were influenced by her work experience in art galleries, she says collectors need not be professionals to assemble their own treasure troves.

Here are Margaret Alexander’s tips:

• Collect what you love.
• Learn about the art and the market.
• Buy the biggest piece you can afford.
• Buy the best of the lot available. (“Not all handmade objects made by one artist are equal,” she says.)
• Buy promptly. (“It will not be duplicated again in the same way.”)
• Budget monthly for upcoming purchases — or work out a payment plan with the gallery.
• Art collection is a lifelong pursuit for those, like Alexander, who appreciate handmade objects and the stories they tell.
• “Collecting is a process that is absolutely fun, interesting and challenging all along the way.”