Collectomania: The Motivations Behind a Collector's Passion

The exhibit "Collectomania" is not just a visual exhibit. It’s an education. The lovely objects are only the representative stand-ins for what makes collectors tick—yes, the psychological motivations behind the collector’s passion.

This exhibit is in Zurich, Switzerland running until January 8, 2023. It includes a wide range of collected objects from liturgical vestments to products made from endangered animals confiscated by the Swiss government. By showing multiple objects in different categories, not only is the exhibit visually rich, but the curator, Karin Gimme, places psychology front and center. This adds so much to a display that could have been about object identification only.

Gimme devotes the entire back wall of the exhibit to explanations regarding the motivations and rewards of collecting. She does this by dividing the section into several different areas, at least one of which, to my knowledge, has been little written about previously (collecting is a creative art). As a collector myself, I am in harmony with her portrayals described below. In fact, I find myself in every description! Other collectors, I believe, may find this too. Citations relevant to her wall text are in the references below.

Collecting is a creative art. Collectors experience a freedom when they collect that they rarely feel elsewhere, especially in their workplace where their creativity may be stifled. When they collect, it’s another matter. Inspiration can run wild. As a result, an altered person can emerge via the very process of collecting. A type of self-actualization can take place. The collector, who earlier felt constraints during daily life, can burst out of this captivity just as a caterpillar turns into a butterfly.

Collectors strategize to organize. Humans have an inherent need to control their environment, especially what is theirs within it. Having one’s own collection allows this intrinsic human tendency to take hold. We can arrange what we purchased in a pleasing way for ourselves. It belongs to us, and we have that privilege. Though this takes place primarily in a display in the collector’s own home, in certain cases museum exhibitions are also possible.

Collecting for financial return. Though most collectors collect because they love the objects they gather and care for, a minority, 20-30%, have a different primary goal. They want to make money through their collecting. Some do this themselves by attempting to “buy low and sell high.” Others invest in organizations where the art is handled for them and the investor never has anything to do with it. Essentially, it is part of their asset allocation portfolio. From the point of view of a collector who loves art, this is a sad state of affairs because the art purchased for financial profit may or may not be placed in the home of the investor but instead ware-housed in some remote and tax-advantaged entity. This approach is the antithesis to collecting for love.

Memory and emotion. Collecting goes beyond practical needs such as shelter, food, and water. The objects gathered are removed from their function which places them in the collectible category. In this form, they take on a new meaning, one charged with symbolism, often of the past. Additionally, they can represent a longing for a time gone by to the collector, one that she or he remembers fondly. Thus, collectors interested in history may treasure Napoleon memorabilia. This act of love on the part of the collector means that these objects are less likely to be forgotten. The curator of the exhibit expressed it this way, “Collector’s items may be souvenirs of one’s own biography. But, beyond that, they also create a connection to something that is bigger than the individual collector.”

Summary

This exhibit “Collectomania” brings two worlds together. The first is the multiple objects in the exhibition which have been lovingly collected by collectors who saw them as enlarging and enriching their lives. The second is what made these collectors do what they did—in other words, the psychological motives that stimulated them to collect and cultivate their collections.

The objects displayed are diverse from the lowliest (orange wrappers) to the sublime (liturgical vestments). In between, there are 20 other collections that are featured including pedal cars, water pistols, vintage dresses, postcards, smoke and fire videos, fountain pens, "Do Not Disturb" signs, car keys, barbie dolls, a lip balm collection, panini pictures, sneakers, Kinder Surprise gold bars, glass eyes, fire helmets, seeds, Dawn chorus, butterflies, glass bottles, ivory, and reptile leather/exotic furs.

These objects represent the passion of the collector for the subject, however lowly or highbrow. The feeling felt and the emotion experienced is what makes life worth living. It is the very lifeline of altering what may be a hum-drum existence into something better.

Karin Gimme, the curator of Collectomania

Source: Thomas M. Mueller