In recent years I've taken an interest in art and art collecting. I found that my joy and appreciation for art began to increase exponentially once I actually began to purchase it. It was that sudden realization that the only thing that separated me from art collectors was buying stuff, not just looking at it.
Once I had acquired my first piece, I suddenly started to think I had entered a world that really belonged to others. I had been to many shows, galleries and openings and had always wondered "who are the art collectors?" "What is it they know that the rest of us don't?" I always thought there was some sort of barrier between looking and buying. Even when I found something that I really quite liked, I could never take that next step. I didn't think I knew enough.
And then it happened. I was perusing a table of off centre prints at an artists studio during the East Van Culture Crawl, finding one I quite liked and discussing it with my friend before putting it back.
"Aren't you going to buy it?" my friend asked.
"I don't know, what do you think?"
"It's $15.00!?!
And with that my friend reach into his pocket handed the artist the money, laughed and said, "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
And that was it. Really quite simple. The barrier was gone. The buying became much easier after that. Never one to do things in moderation, I now need to figure out how to pay for it all.
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