So I went out of London for this one: a Beatles and McCartney collector. She collected everything from the records (all- including bootlegs, and weird covers of Beatles and McCartney stuff) to books to memorabilia (talcum powder, dolls, and postcards) to gigs (nearly all front row centre) to face to face meetings. Karen seemed to use the high fiscal value of her collection as a validating tool- she didn't acquire items because they were expensive but used their value to explain to others why she had collected them. It seems also a bit of a thing with collectors for their collections to take them to other places- it was trainspotting holidays for Tim, Indian tin hunting for Tony and McCartney Road trips for Karen. She spoke about her and her friends (another common thing is this culture of like minded collectors- i guess that's just like friends though right.) would go and follow Paul's tour around the states- only sitting in front row centre seats (AAA) which seemed pretty hardcore. She spoke about how the memorabilia she collected now had to be authentic i.e. from the 60's / 70's as crap knock offs weren't good as people were making too much money off them - although she did say "if it was Paul then I'd get it- I'd just have to." When asked why Paul McCartney? she responded-"Why do some people support Manchester United? I just do" She also spoke about enjoying others incrdulity at the amount of stuff she had- "I can honestly say anyone who's ever some to my house had been wide eyed and open mouthed- it's like... awh!" I guess Beatles items lend themselves to sets as there were 4 of them but even in the McCartney stuff she would have a set of 5 or 6 of the same vinyl which was different countries releases- the promos and the original re-releases. Interestingly whilst she described herself as untidy, her collection contrasted by being centrally located in one room at the heart of the house- it was alphabetically ordered, and organised by subject and medium, whilst not being archived, or listed in any formal way she said she knew what items she had and where every item was, in her head. She also had a McCartney tattoo which i forgot to take a photo of! One if the best quotes was: "I'm a loyal collector, when I collect something, I really collect it. It's why I've never watched shows like x-files etc." In terms of pulling out conclusions, this one seems quite hard, but i'd have to focus on- the breadth of the collection: from experience to record (directly influenced by the artist) to memorabilia (indirectly influenced by the artist). The duplication and tiny variations which create the need to possess multiple and (to the untrained eye) identical copies. The symbolism attached to the subject matter- Paul McCartney. The purhasing owning, possessing of the items being the 'thing' as the records (whilst played) seemed to be thouroughly abstracted from the function. The competitive streak to be the No. 1 fan- in terms of quantity of records and number of gigs attended (I just had to buy it).
Beatles/McCartney Collector
words to follow.
Teddy Bears
More interviews, today with Violet Marriott, a Teddy Bear collector. A very impressive collection that is displayed on her sofa as you walk in which you can't ignore. I guess the things which interested me where the age of the bears, which were generally though not exclusivley, old- like some over 100 years old. The acquisition, ad criteria of the bears was also interesting- they were obtained for aesthetic value and also to prevent their destruction- Vi commented that she liked the tattiest ones best, and they were acquired via auctions, shops, gifts, stealing and skips, and whilst heritage and providence played a part in some of the value (sentimental and fiscal) and where purchased for not inconsiderable sums they were placed on par with the least notable which had become something of a mascot. All the bears wore clothes, mostly made by Vi and she referred to each by name which either referred to some sort of history which the bear had 0r to it's character- Edwin, Rupert (as in Brookes), Seigfried (as in Sassoon), Cherub, Blackie, Brass Eye, etc. A couple of quotes: 'well they're not bears, they're people', 'I like the tatty ones they're special'
Overall I think I took away the idea of collectable and context again i.e. the age and the names and the 'tattyness', the idea of memories and experiences embodied into an object is also notable. Thanks ever so much to Vi for talking to me.
Trainspotting
I conducted an interview with an avid transport collector at the weekend. His main interest was in taking slides of steam trains. For this hobby he travelled all over the world with friends and alone to acquire images. After 40 years of collecting he speculated that there were approximately 15-20 thousand images in his collection. He spoke about how slides were his preferred medium as they allowed for simultaneously display within the social group of the trainspotter. He meets up with 4 friends every year and each displays the slides taken 30 years ago and also those taken last year. He spoke about how in the desired image for the collection was one of combined quality between locomotion and location. In pursuit of new acquisitions he was arrested twice in communist East Germany (when the Berlin Wall was still up). On trying to rationalise the Why? of the collection he spoke about wanting to capture the memory of an experience and then to be able to share this. This memory of an experience led to comfort and satisfaction and he talked about the pleasure derived from a tangible record.
My Conclusions:
Collection & Context.
Continual process and movement.
Tangible, physical, tactile objects of memories and experiences.
Shared experience of display.
Predictable, repetition, control.