Last Word: Do you Collect?

Robert Postema and Dr Patricia Jungfer

Whether it is the opening of a commercial gallery’s latest offering or a curated exhibition at a public gallery, contemporary art has its protocols and rituals. The attendees are frequently dressed in a neutral colour, more probably than not in black, so as not to overwhelm the art that is on display. If you go to these events often enough, the faces become familiar. There is an acknowledging nod and smile. You start to chat with others. Connections and commonalities are explored, with the work closest to you often the focus of a shared commentary before the ritual of engagement follows a predictable path.

Following preliminaries, the conversation moves on to ‘have you bought anything in the show’ (commercial exhibitions) or ‘are you familiar with the artist’ (public exhibitions). Not infrequently, the question then arises ‘are you a collector?’ We can recall the first time this question was posed. We looked at each other and the provocateur, not knowing what to answer. As time has gone by, we understand we do ‘collect’. To us it means supporting a sector of the community that is brave and prepared to document and comment on the issues of our time. It also means we have a hopeless addiction to buying art.

Of course, and almost inevitability having made the ‘we are collectors’ admission, the next question is ‘what is the focus of your collection’ Our hearts would sink again because we would then have to confess that there is no focus, no theme and we cannot even stick to a genre. Behind our cheery façade, we worry ‘what does the person asking this question make of us’ because we have an ‘eclectic’ collection. The polite description of what we have accumulated over the years. We admire the collector who sets out to buy only women artists, time-based media art or some other defined or erudite theme. We are in awe of the discipline that comes with buying exclusively conceptual or minimalist work. However, these are not characteristics we possess. Alas, as well as having little self-control, we appear to have no focus in our collection. Initially we would then smile and quickly shift the conversation to what the other person’s focus was. We knew this was safer ground and terminate the squirming discomfort that reminded us of our childhood and being caught being naughty or undisciplined.

We don’t worry about this question anymore. We have worked out we just like seeing, experiencing and immersing ourselves in contemporary art. We can cope with the dreaded question now. We can even afford a knowing smile, when it comes up. We do in fact have a theme to our collection. It reflects who we are and how we view the world. No, we don’t collect one type of art or one medium or whatever. We just collect what we love and what speaks to us!

“As time has gone by, we understand we do ‘collect’. To us it means supporting a sector of the community that is brave and prepared to document and comment on the issues of our time. It also means we have a hopeless addiction to buying art.”

Tony Albert, Brothers (The Prodigal Son) 1 (2020), in Robert and Patricia’s home.

Sanné Mestrom, Garden commission (2016), in Robert and Patricia’s garden.