04/05/2007: "My Addiction"

They say the first step in getting help is realizing that you have a
problem.

What should I do? I now have several art magazines sitting on top of my
dining room table, untouched and needless to say, unread. This is not the
first time they've piled up. Oh no. To be honest, it happens every month.

Let me just say that right after art, my second love is art magazines. I
subscribe to seven ... Art In America, Art Forum, Art News, Modern Painters,
Art On Paper, Arte Al Dia and American Art Collector. I also sometimes buy
Art Review, Art Nexus, Art & Auction, Art New England, Flash Art, Art Ltd.
(which used to be called, West Coast Art) and whatever else remotely
resembles an art publication. In addition, I subscribe to the Sunday New
York Times and I check it frequently during the week for the arts section.
Who can resist magazines with story headlines that read, "The New
Abstraction," or "The Dream of Aboriginal Art"? Not me. You may as well be
dangling a double cheesburger and fries (with a diet coke please) in front
of my face. In short, art magazines are my addiction.

However, because I write about art from my own personal experiences, I try
not to read the articles too deeply. I want my ideas to be original ... if
that's possible. Also, I'm beginning to resent art magazines because I feel
that they taunt me with art that's WAY BEYOND my price range.

What can I do?

I can either cancel my subscriptions and feel like I'm missing out ... or
keep them, many of which have just been flipped through, and let them
continue to build into unruly mountains of fodder around the house. Am I
crazy? I mean, who really needs all of these magazines? Not even super,
well-connected art titans have time to pour through all of these
publications. Do they? If I actually read all of these things, I wouldn't
have time for anything else! I remember not too long ago, I got a painting
delivered and set it on a table unopened so that I could flip through an art
magazine! It's like buying into some art fantasy when I've got the real
thing surrounding me. I'm in the art forest, but don't see the trees. It
makes no sense. Do I need an intervention?

>From time to time, I've heard myself judging people who LIVE for the New
York Yankees and attend EVERY home game ... or people who LOVE Star Trek and
attend EVERY annual Trekkie convention. If your passion is that narrow and
deep, are you really having a life? Okay, my answer to that is ... YES!
You're having the life of YOUR choosing. Shouldn't that be what life is
about? Our ability to choose? Still, there's a WHOLE WORLD out there. Do
I want to look back at my life and say that I was among the most well-read
art people? Or, do I want to actually GET OUT THERE and SEE art for myself
... and continue to enjoy my own collecting and direct communication with
artists?

The problem is I can't be everywhere, so I need these art magazines to be my
ears and eyes. I think that it really comes down to this ... LIMITATIONS.
By virtue of being human, we're all limited. We can't be everywhere or see
everything.

The song goes, "It's a small world after all," but you know what? This is a
HUGE world. How will I ever experience it all? That's the sad part. I
won't. None of us will. That's where National Geographic and Conde Nast
Traveler come in. I can travel by reading about far-flung places and
looking at the great photography. How will I ever taste every gourmet dish?
I won't. That's where Gourmet magazine comes in ... I won't be able to
taste everything, but at least I can see photographs of great food. How
will I ever see every architectural wonder of the world? I won't, so I'll
have to rely on Architectural Record to record most of them for me. This is
the invaluable role that magazines play in our society. Oops, I forgot.
They're in it to make money too.

Here's another thing. Most magazines worth their cover price are really
books. They just seem too good to toss out. I always feel like I've wasted
money when I throw out (or even donate) good magazines. I'm not kidding,
but I've actually bought old, second-hand issues of art magazines that I've
already had at home! Now keep in mind, I fully realize that I don't REALLY
have a problem. I'm blessed. There are people starving in India. THAT'S a
problem. There are people dying in Iraq. THAT'S a problem. There are
people suffering right now with inoperable brain tumors. THAT'S a problem.

I guess there really is a such thing as ... "too much information" or too
much anything for that matter. Too much information becomes too much
information when there just isn't enough time to process it all. We'll
never have enough time to process all of the information out there. It just
seems like such a waste, but it's certainly a blessing to have too much of
something good rather than not enough. Life itself can be too much. We'll
never have enough time to process it all, but you know what? GIVE ME MORE!

I guess that also applies to art magazines. Am I addicted to art magazines?
I don't know. It's better to have too many than not enough. Right?

MICHAEL CORBIN IS AN AVID ART COLLECTOR AND AUTHOR OF "ART IN KING SIZE
BEDS: A COLLECTOR'S JOURNAL," NOW AVAILABLE ON AUTHORHOUSE.COM.

Replies: 15 Comments

on Friday, April 27th, CaribbeanGirl Sam said

What u griping about??? You have it good. If I had access to half the mags you have, I would be extatic!!!! Also to be exposed to a world of art....oh the heaven...I have to make do with web clips. No big art movement on this small island. Thank the universe you are so lucky.

on Friday, April 27th, CaribbeanGirl Sam said

on Friday, April 20th, Lez Dor said

Hi Michael - from my perspective, you don't have a problem, you have a privilege - I would kill to have access to all those wonderful magazines. Down here in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa, we simply don't see any of them, in any bookshop, ever. If any of you lucky guys wish to donate magazines to me first, and our local art community second (that means any duplicates, and once they start piling up from your generosity) my address is Lez Dor, PO Box 5881, Walmer, 6070, PE, Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa.

on Thursday, April 19th, Karen said

Hi Michael,
You missed one: Art Calendar Magazine, excellent for those who like to see their art up close and in person before they buy!

Let's remember that art is to be appreciated and enjoyed, and if a magazine aids in that endeavor, then good enough.

Karen

on Wednesday, April 18th, [url=][/url] said

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on Thursday, April 12th, Maria, artstage said

Michael, thank you so much: reading your article for me was like looking into a mirror! Since a few months I try to minimize my archieve - who knows? maybe I need something of the collected....?
I tried to get away from the reading by writing (my websites, my blogs, ...) but, you'll not believe: the archieve of my bookmarks explored!?! (What do you think, how I found you?)
So, what?
in a friendly manner connected,
greetings from Austria, Maria

on Wednesday, April 11th, Teresa said

Pienso que es una buena adicción si te lo puedes permitir. Hace años a mi me pasaba lo mismo, pero ahora hago lo que Mark, procuro sacar todo el mundo que llevo en mi interior, y me faltan horas y días para poder dar a la luz todo eso que trata de salir de las tinieblas y materializarse en dos dimensiones.

on Tuesday, April 10th, Lady Mucha said

My advice-set aside a certain time each day to read a few articles until you've accomplished the mountain of magazines, then create a foundation-Used art magazines for starving artists who can't afford to buy them.

on Monday, April 9th, Don W Murphy said

Michael,

Your problem doesn't sound all that bad, as long as you can pay for the publications. I have one firm rule when I have a problem (especially concerning computers) DON'T TELL MY WIFE! I find that explaining the prpblem to my wife is much more of a problem than the problem. So I am worse off. Don

on Friday, April 6th, Ellen said

Michael-
We must be related! I get a variety of magazines that I don't have time to read.... They just sit there, pointing acusing fingers at me! "Open me!" they say! I put some in my car and they stay there as well. I find that I'm drawn(!) to the pictures and rarely read the articles. I have more than 500 art books (hard and soft cover) and still can't throw away the magazines. Not only that: I've collected magazine articles/pictures for more than 30 years. I can't seem to throw those out either, although I rarely look at them. I'm just too busy during the day. When I finally fall into bed at night, I want to relax and the art mags hype me up! The magazine I truly look forward to receiving, aside from Absolute Arts, natch, is Successful Farming. It is a monthly publication that informs me of tractor parts and repairs, root rot, seed sowing, and fertilizers. Not only do I not farm or garden, I don't even do well with houseplants!! Successful Farming is SO FAR removed from my life that it acts as a vist to a foreign country that I can truly enjoy: no passports, baggage, etc. It also makes me aware of my planet and how it's bounty is doing. Michael- your addiction is a positive one- ENJOY!

on Thursday, April 5th, phil said

I too am a collector of contemporary art, but I find little of interest in magazines, although I scan most of the art zines in a bookstore when they come out. You never know, but I rarely buy.
The best place to find art is on the net, at gallery sites and individual artists sites.
Virtually everyone who comes to our home tells us that we have the finest private collection they have ever seen. And we do it without blowing the bank. You just have to find talented artists before the rest of the art world - that is when the prices are still reasonable.
In the past few years I have looked at about 200,000 new works of art - online, in galleries and at art shows. If you do the leg work, it pays off.
Good luck.
Phil

on Thursday, April 5th, Mark said

Used to be that I baught art magazines like one buys food, well it was food to my art spirit when I was in the early stages of learning to paint. Now seasoned but still and always learning I find less in the magazines and more from my center, so I will still flip through them at the book store and if something realy catches my eye and interest beyond the few minute it takes to skim the article I will buy that magazine, but that happens seldom these days. I find most of what is in the mags trite and shallow and fleeting. Better to find the meat of what I do from my subjects and from my own self then from what others say is hot, deep or worthwhile. I'll still give the mags a glance but mostly that is all.

on Thursday, April 5th, jose said

I hadn't thought of it from that perspective, and you are quite right, Andrew. Your mind kind of becomes fixed on certain things and it's hard to keep things in perspective.

on Thursday, April 5th, Andrew said

There is the potential problem of being influenced too much by what you read. Art movements, sometimes of very little substance, are created by exactly the magazines you have subscriptions to.
I remember interviewing the editor of ArtNews once. He told me their articles are mostly about the artists whose galleries buy their most expensive ads.

on Thursday, April 5th, jose said

As long as you can afford it, Michael, and it's not causing you or others neglect or suffering in any way, then I think you can safely say you've found yourself a pretty good addiction. Too much information? Don't know about that. You are a writer, and you write about art, so really it's an important aspect of your activity. We tend to thieve through the useless information anyway - pass on to the next page and the next and the next, until we've collected what 'food' we need. Enjoy it without remorse.

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04/05/2007: "My Addiction"