Should Students Buy Art for a University Collection?

Leigh Ann Hallberg (P ’12) Teaching Professor

The students’ sole criterion for selection of artworks for the Reece Collection is to purchase works that “reflect their time” at Wake Forest. “Their time” is a difficult, slippery concept, and I would say students’ understanding of that time evolves as they move forward through the program. There are certain topics that will appear as obvious subject matter, such as identity, war, climate change, migration and so on. Students push deeper into content and each work’s resonance beyond its initial topicality. Do the work’s formal properties support and augment the subject matter and content? Does the work continue to ask questions of the viewer? And on a more pragmatic level, how does this work relate to the existing collection in terms of media, size, the gaps it might fill and our ability to care for and display it.

The question of whether Wake Forest should even be collecting art has been discussed, especially considering the lack of a dedicated space for its presentation. I, too, have thought about the Reece Collection in this light. There is an argument that collecting art is only a means of signaling wealth and status. Obviously, for some people, it is. If you Google “art and money,” the search engine’s results are pages and pages of articles titled, for example:

• “The Three Most Expensive Contemporary Artists of the Year So Far”

• “Top Ten Most Expensive Artworks by Living Artists”

• “The World’s Ten Most Valuable Artworks”

Students need to understand all aspects of the art world, even the coarse and ignorant parts, if they are going to participate in this world. But most importantly, students need to understand that art is about much more than money. As John Berger stated in his BBC television series from 1972, “Ways of Seeing”:

“It’s as if the painting, absolutely still, soundless, becomes a corridor, connecting the moment it represents with the moment at which you are looking at it, and something travels down that corridor at a speed greater than light, throwing into question a way of measuring time itself.”

I cannot imagine trying to teach art, the making of it or its history, without the experience of looking at physical, material, present works of art. Pedagogically, students need access to unmediated examples of what they aspire to make and study. Looking at reproductions or projections of artworks does not allow for an authentic, faithful experience of the work. Seeing works in person makes an enormous difference. When students’ lives are dominated by screens, the experience of relating to a physical work of art is essential. A tiny Instagram image or a small work that has been blown up to fit a projection screen without accurate color and texture is no substitute for apprehending and learning from an actual work of art. Our Reece Collection, which has been carefully and thoughtfully selected by students, encourages discussion, asks questions, gives hope, challenges and creates joy for the entire Wake Forest community.

I have had the pleasure of participating in the Reece Collection program twice, in 2009 with Professor Jay Curley and in 2017. When I think back to 2009, what I recall most vividly are the debates and deliberations. After spending three and a half days pounding the Chelsea pavement, we returned to a rather dark conference room at our hotel to decide what to purchase. A number of works were being considered, but two expensive works were at the core of the discussions: The Sleep of Reason, a large photograph by Yinka Shonibare, and a large cyanotype by Christian Marclay. The students did not have sufficient funds to buy both. I wish I had recorded the conversation! The discourse was intelligent, respectful and INTENSE. I will never forget that discussion. At one point, I made small sketches of all the works being debated on separate cards along with their prices so that the students could create groupings of works that they might purchase within the budget. Arguments for the Marclay, now an iconic work in the Reece Collection, prevailed. We also purchased a small Shonibare collage that has been exhibited most recently at Reynolda House Museum of American Art in the exhibition substrata. I was immensely proud of those students. The seriousness with which they addressed their task, not in terms of money but in terms of what the artworks purchased would mean to future students, was inspiring.

The program has occurred every four years, and as a rule, seniors and sometimes juniors were chosen as participants. I remember having to reluctantly tell inquiring students that the trip would occur in a year when they, first-years or sophomores, would most likely not be able to participate. It seemed unfair to not consider students who might not be as polished or advanced but who were knowledgeable and enthusiastic. So in 2017, I intentionally sought to carefully review applications of superior students beyond just juniors or seniors. The 2017 students included three seniors, one junior and two sophomores. Previous groups contained odd numbers of participants to break any ties in voting, but the group in 2017 simply coalesced at six, and I asked that all decisions be unanimous. The students agreed. With a generous gift from Wake Forest parents Cathy and Jeff Dishner (P ’21), starting in 2024, the program will occur every three years for the next 15 years, allowing for a greater number of students to experience this amazing opportunity. 2017’s deliberations were also memorable in that then-Provost, Rogan Kersh (’86), was involved. Provost Kersh had always voiced his enthusiasm for the program and invited students to fill him in on the proceedings. When deliberations did come to a unanimous conclusion, the students did not have sufficient funds for shipping the works back to Winston-Salem, and so the students just gave him a ring and asked for a bit more money. Granted! Amazing!

Participants in the student-led art acquisition program have gone on to work in the art world as curators, art educators, artists, gallery directors, gallery accountants, registrars and exhibition managers. This program allowed them to experience and participate in the art world, giving them incomparable insights. The works that they have purchased have given the Wake Forest community an invaluable resource for learning, for contemplation, for debate and for pure enjoyment.