My family attended the wedding of a good friend this weekend. The bride's father is a manager/producer and let's just say he's high on the food chain; not just in Nashville but globally. The house was extraordinary, the art collection mind-boggling and I'll just sum it up with one image:
A "selfie" by Ringo Starr, taken with a film camera in a bathroom mirror circa late 1960's. Signed. To said father.
The photo collection alone was a music geek's wet dream. Turning to leave the bathroom, up above the light switches...holy shit, a letter press print of sheet music signed by Brian Wilson. It just kept going. Taking in the Miro' on the staircase landing, I was filled with many emotions but ultimately I take some heart in the fact that people of that economic level collect art accordingly. Certainly not all of them, but some. Chagall, Warhol, Howard Finster, it just kept going; a feast to the eyes at every turn with a decidedly clear aesthetic. They were hung with appreciation but never in a vulgar, showy way. These people lived with their art, and I think that is what gave me hope.
It was a window into a world few of us (at my socio-economic level) get to see. Art that may or may never be viewed by the general public again. Out of respect, I left my phone in the car and didn't check-in. Alas, no selfie with the Miro', but everyone deserves their personal space if not their privacy. Who knows what treasures are locked in the temples of the 1% that will never again see the museums?
And tomorrow night, I will leave all that behind, suit up, and go finish the painting in the studio....
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