By Carrie Patterson, University of Pennsylvania
Corporations are places where collections, particularly art collections, are used to reflect what a company stands for or values. Even when we go into other people’s homes, we may see that they have particular collections. This leads us to wonder, why would they have a collection of these objects, and what questions does a set of these particular objects pose?
A person’s collection of objects reflect their values and a specific, personal worldview. Their collections are visual cultural assemblages. Texture, color, volume, shape, and light are presented in orderly patterns. Each collection is a marriage of big historical ideas and urgent contemporary problems.
Becoming a Collector
How can one become a collector? A great place to start is to look around your house, your things, and your habits. What types of objects do you already collect? Are you an avid reader? Do you love lanterns and have more than one? Maybe you go for a walk or hike every day. Do you pick things up along the way: walking sticks or other natural forms? If you find that you have more than one of something that you don’t really use practically, then you may have the start to a collection.
Identify something to collect and do visual research either in person or online. There are many resources out there on digital collections but you can also research the old-fashioned way. Get out of the house and go to some stores that might contain the type of thing you are looking for. Go out of your way to find new venues. Or go to the library and check out some books related to the objects that interest you.
Explore other collections. What could be better than a day looking at how other people have collected and why? Go to big museums; but for really eclectic collections you may even go to small ones.
This is a transcript from the video series Visual Literacy Skills: How to See. Watch it now, on Wondrium.
The Mütter Museum in Philadelphia
The first documentation of little collections was in the 16th century with what is called a ‘cabinet of curiosities’ or ‘wonder room’. These little wonder rooms were collections of things that people gathered and wanted to display to share with other people. They were highly curated and specific, usually telling a particular story of a certain place or time.
One example is The Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, established in 1858 by physician and professor Thomas Mütter. It essentially started as a teaching collection with 1700 objects and specimens and has continued to serve as an educational collection as well as a historical overview of medical oddities. You will find lots of jars full of medical specimens and oddities, equipment that looks more like torture devices than things found in the doctor’s office, documents of medical history, and more. Mütter made a conscious decision to collect, preserve, and present a fascinating collection that weaves together an important reminder of the fragility of our human experience.
The Mercer Museum in Pennsylvania
The Mercer Museum in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, is another kind of specific and odd collection. This concrete castle built in 1916 by historian and archaeologist Henry Mercer houses over 30,000 handmade American objects.
He started the collection as the Industrial Revolution was happening and he wanted to preserve objects that told the story of an American way of life. His system for categorizing objects is uniquely his own. Mercer was fearful that vital information about the pre-industrial age was going to be lost and he was passionate about preserving and displaying the tools of the past.
The Mercer Museum is an example of another fascinating aspect of collecting—the desire to show and share.
Henry Mercer didn’t just collect. He put enormous time and resources into building the museum so that the collection could be experienced by others. A significant part of the meaning that comes from collections is related to how, where, and why they are displayed.
Selecting and Displaying Collections
Museums are carefully designed to guide the viewer through the experience of the collection in a particular way, asking them to make connections and draw conclusions simply through the way items are displayed. This is an important part of curation.
Understanding how collections are selected and displayed is an important visual literacy skill. For every item you see, there are a dozen items you don’t see, and there are reasons for that. The placement and order of the items you see communicate something to you, even if you aren’t paying attention. But the more attention you do pay, and the more you realize how much thought and purpose go into these decisions, the more skillful and intelligent a visual consumer you will be.
Getting Inspired
Let your own collection inspire you. There was a student who bought a painting made by his teacher when he graduated. He later became a successful fashion designer and used that painting as an inspiration for a shoe design. Thus, you never know when your collection may take you down a creative road of your own. Have fun.
Whatever collection you have or would like to start, use it as an opportunity to get to know yourself and your values. Self-expression, inspiration, remembrance, love, curiosity, and hope are all reasons why we collect; All good reasons to indulge yourself.
Common Questions about Collections and Collectors: Where Does One Start?
A person’s collection of objects reflect their values and a specific, personal worldview. Their collections are visual cultural assemblages.
The Mercer Museum is a concrete castle that was built in 1916 by historian and archeologist Henry Mercer. It houses over 30,000 handmade American objects. Mercer started the collection as the Industrial Revolution was happening as he wanted to preserve objects that told the story of an American way of life.
Museums are carefully designed to guide the viewer through the experience of the collection in a particular way, asking them to make connections and draw conclusions simply through the way items are displayed. This is an important part of curation.
