Exhibit encourages art collectors to ‘Start Small’
When Ryan Riedel saw the painting of a foot-long hot dog at an art show, he knew it was too good to pass up.
“I have this sick fascination with hot dogs,” said Riedel, a senior majoring in painting and drawing. “I love hot dogs. So I saw it — I was like, ‘I have to have this piece. I have to have it.'”
The painting, which normally hangs above Riedel’s bed, is one of many pieces of student-owned artwork on display in the Starting Small art exhibit at the Twain Tippetts Exhibition Hall at USU through Dec. 1.
At the opening reception Friday night, students, professors and community members examined artwork loaned by students from their private collections. The exhibit will hopefully inspire students to start their own art collections now, said Brady Mathews, a senior majoring in interior design who helped curate the exhibit.
Curating this project was a learning experience, said Trissta Lyman, a graduate student majoring in interior design.
“The four of us who curated are also starting our own (collections), so we were also doing research for ourselves when we were collecting the other students’ (pieces),” Lyman said.
She said there was good feedback from other students who have their own collections, both before and after the curators started asking around for donations. The show has multiple works donated by eight students and more than 15 artists are represented.
The curators each explained the possibilities students have for collecting artwork when budgets are tight. Curator and ceramics graduate student Megan Mitchell said making trades with other students is one of the easiest ways to collect. A lot of students are willing to sell artwork inexpensively.
Riedel agreed. “Students here, we kind of have a disadvantage of other students that at the end of the semester we don’t have books to sell back. We do have plenty of artwork, though.”
He said students should look at the classwork on display in the art building hallways. Go to the art office with the name of the class, and often a student or professor will send an email with an offer, he said.
Learning how to strike deals with artists and gallery owners is important to collecting, especially on a budget. To Riedel, who said he saves his money to buy art, dealing is important to getting the pieces he wants. He said if he really wants a piece that is outside his current budget allowance, he asks if he can pay in installments.
Through the years, Riedel has bargained and traded for more than 100 pieces of artwork. Stacked on shelves, the floor, in tubes, in closets and in boxes at his house, his collection is a constantly growing effort that started 12 years ago. Collecting for him is not an investment, but an enjoyment, he said.
Quoting American art collectors Herbert and Dorothy Vogels, Riedel said, “You don’t read every book you own every second of the day, but it’s nice to know that you have the opportunity to read the book when you want. And it’s the same with art. You don’t need to look at every piece you own, but it’s nice that you have the ability to look at those artworks.”
Students who collect now have the opportunity to get artwork that may be more valuable after the artist gets famous. This is an advantage to those starting their collections now vs. later, art Professor Chuck Landvatter said.
The name “Starting Small” is a perfect name for what curators of the exhibit aim to convey, Landvatter said.
“I started extremely small — sketches and drawings from friends,” he said. “When I was about 15, I had a friend come and spray paint my room. He did the closet doors. He’s one of the biggest graphic designers in the snowboard industry right now.”
Lyman said online is a great place to find artwork. One of the contributing students got a set of Bill McRight prints from CannonballPress.com for $20 each. There are pieces from nationally, as well as locally, known artists in the show, she said.
Landvatter said collecting from local artists and friends increases the value people have for their pieces.
“This is the idea: You want artwork for your home that didn’t come from Bed, Bath and Beyond — right? — and Walmart.” Landvatter said. “So you start personalizing it by getting from friends. It means more when you know the person. I don’t know van Gogh, you know what I mean? And everyone else has van Gogh, anyway.”
Megan Evans, one of the curators of the exhibit, said the value of a piece isn’t necessarily monetary. It just has to mean a lot to the collector. Sometimes there is a backstory, and sometimes it strikes the artist in a meaningful way.
Riedel said his passion for art collecting is what keeps him going.
“I love art without abandon,” he said. “I would rather buy art than food.”
– la.stewart@aggiemail.usu.edu