First, for those on this e-mail list who are members of the Club, you should have received by e-mail a membership list. In the process of adjusting the e-mail list for this, some members may have been missed. So, if you’re a member and didn’t get a membership list, please let me know.
Next, I had an interesting conversation with Audrey Lipton of Manhattan. Audrey said that we
need to position ourselves differently if we hope to be recognized by the art market. As part of the discussion she said she doesn’t like to belong to collector clubs. When I asked why, she said they diminish credibility as an art form. There are all kinds of clubs. Clubs for beanie babies, toys, and everything imaginable. Most of these collectibles, while proper collectibles, aren’t an art form. They’re just collector cards, or dolls or whatever. Nothing wrong with that, but it isn’t an art form. If we want displays or recognition by museums and other art magazines or galleries we need to present ourselves as something more exclusive or special than merely another collectible club. I thought this was a most interesting and insightful perspective. I hope I have properly relayed Audrey’s thoughts. I can vouch for the difficulty in getting attention from art magazines and museums. It’s not the product, which is of the finest of art forms in the glass world.
Perhaps we shouldn’t call ourselves a club, but rather a society. I’d like comments and perhaps it addresses something we should take up at our next members meeting.