Mark Waskow is an art enthusiast and collector – and he’s been very busy. Since he began collecting art objects in 1998, he’s amassed over 15,000 pieces.
A portion of his collection, which is so large that it’s housed in nine undisclosed locations in two states, has been curated and is on display through May at the Amy E. Tarrant Gallery in Burlington.
“It’s a rather eclectic collection,” Waskow says. He says he doesn’t focus on any one medium and has everything from traditional paintings to sound installations and olfactory art. “Basically, if I see something I’m interested in, and I can afford it, I usually will buy it,” he says.
When asked to choose his favorite, he says he can’t: “I love it all. If I had a major fire, I would run in and save everything and it would probably by the last time anyone saw me."
Although Waskow has been a collector his entire life (he started at age 3 with rocks and minerals), he didn’t get into art collecting until 1998. “I was on a date and [we] decided we would visit the Art Hop,” Waskow says. “This was in September of 1998, and the date wasn’t so great, but the art was terrific. It was like a good inoculation and stuck.”
The first piece of art Waskow purchased was by Gretchen Whittier. “It was a little table that had been overlaid with cigarette butts, cigarettes and match sticks laid out in precision formation and held in place through resin,” Waskow explains. He says that his collection is not all from local artists, but is very “Vermont-centric.”
"If you saw something particularly interesting over the past 10 or 15 years, and you said, 'Wow, that's a great piece,' hopefully you can visit my collection and re-visit the piece that I had found, trapped and displayed." - Mark Waskow, art collector
The exhibit, called The Waskowmium: Where the Art Stops, is a reference to the fact that Waskow sees himself as an art trapper. “It is an allusion to the fact that one of the points to the collection is that if you saw something particularly interesting over the past 10 or 15 years, and you said, ‘Wow, that’s a great piece,’ hopefully you can visit my collection and re-visit the piece that I had found, trapped and displayed,” says the art collector.
What does he hope to inspire in those who visit the exhibit? He wants people to understand the difference between original art and reproduced art. “It’s pretty common for people to have a picture of something that’s well known, like the 'Mona Lisa,' in their kitchen, and they may think [it has] the same impact that [it] would have in the presence of the original, and it’s just not the case,” he says.
Another important message Waskow is trying to spread is that people shouldn’t be focused on buying well-known art; that unfamiliar art can create as much joy. He says by doing that, it helps to break the stereotype that one has to be wealthy to buy art. “I am not wealthy. I am certainly less liquid than I would be if I hadn’t collected art, but I’m not wealthy, have never been wealthy and because of this, probably never will be wealthy,” he says.
Waskow argues that for roughly the same amount of money as a nice dinner or a weekend out, a piece of artwork could be purchased. “You could have the artwork on your wall … forever, and have a source of inspiration and enjoyment that would be with you for as long as you want it to be,” he says.
"I would urge people that normally would not go to something like this to surprise yourself and go. It could potentially be a life-changing experience for you."
The art collector also stresses the fact that art galleries and museums aren’t elitist or fussy. “I would urge people that normally would not go to something like this to surprise yourself and go. It could potentially be a life-changing experience for you,” he says.
Mark Waskow will be giving a collector’s talk at the Amy E. Tarrant Gallery on Saturday, April 4 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Learn more about the show here.
