Variations on the question include:
- why that instead of this?
- why that when this one is cheaper / bigger / brighter / newer?
- why that instead of this one by a famous artist?
- why that when you already have 2 / 11 / endless copies of the same thing already?
- why did you hang it here?
Speaking only for myself - I find these questions irritating, but I think they can be answered.
Many purchase and display decisions are not entirely rational - they are driven by emotion, memory, intangible sensations of pleasure or pain - and they are hard to defend because you can't put all that into the mind of your questioner. You may want to share everything, or you may not. You might just want to look at the piece in peace!
CASE STUDY [click on any image to enlarge]
CASE STUDY [click on any image to enlarge]
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| Le Pavilion II by Kevin Blackham |
This is a collage built from old architecture books. We bought it at KD Fine Art, in Compton, Surrey. We have nothing else like it, and have never seen this artist's works since (the website). When I look at it, I end up half-way 'round the world in an English county, a decade ago, on a hot summer day.
THE CONTEXT
We were walking in Painshill Park looking for follies, and being chased by angry geese. Follies are peculiar buildings, constructed with no thought for practicality - grottos, towers, gazebos. Ted was our tour guide.
We explored lots of gardens that summer - Painshill, Wisley, even the Chelsea Garden Show - but we kept on looking for follies. And we found plenty up and down the length of England.
We fell in love with Watts Chapel, in Compton, 50 miles south of London, and made several trips to explore the paintings, the gallery, the chapel, the cemetery and the neighborhood.
Sometimes it was hot. If we had explored up a terrific thirst, we went for the occasional drink down atthe pub.
And eventually, would stroll home quietly down the lane.
Anyway, in the middle of that summer, I bought this picture. Already framed. I took it back to where were staying and constructed a nifty crate for it. My friend Ted (shown here) is in a better place now and no longer with us. But I still have the crate. And the artwork.
That's why I hang this piece right there.
We explored lots of gardens that summer - Painshill, Wisley, even the Chelsea Garden Show - but we kept on looking for follies. And we found plenty up and down the length of England.
We fell in love with Watts Chapel, in Compton, 50 miles south of London, and made several trips to explore the paintings, the gallery, the chapel, the cemetery and the neighborhood.
Sometimes it was hot. If we had explored up a terrific thirst, we went for the occasional drink down atthe pub.
And eventually, would stroll home quietly down the lane.
Anyway, in the middle of that summer, I bought this picture. Already framed. I took it back to where were staying and constructed a nifty crate for it. My friend Ted (shown here) is in a better place now and no longer with us. But I still have the crate. And the artwork.
That's why I hang this piece right there.