Art Disappears in Private Hands. Can Social Media Resurface It?
Private art collections are notoriously secretive. A collective website aims to make them viewable by all.
The Oralkans have uploaded their personal collection online, as have Mr. Toscano and about 1,200 others. Anyone with a computer can now scroll through images of the work they own. Using and accessing it at a basic level is free. But users can sign up for two higher-tier plans (one at $15 a month and another at $125 a month) that provide access to features like passes to art fairs and the opportunity to to be interviewed for the site’s editorial platform.
In addition to sharing, art collectors are seeking tools to organize growing collections, connect online with gallerists and curators and, perhaps, to humblebrag about what’s on their walls.
“Collecting used to almost be like a private club with people who were very traditional in their privacy and comportment,” Ronald Varney, an independent fine art adviser in New York, said in an interview this week. “Nowadays, it’s often, ‘How much publicity can I get out of this?’”
Collecteurs is attempting to harness the energy of social media without all of its associated noise, and offer a window into the secretive and exclusive world of private collections.
See the full story here: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/14/arts/design/art-collection-digital-museum.html