No need for aesthetic judgement. Editor Ayumi Gunji's "Recommendations for buying art that will last a lifetime" (Part 2)

"HERALBONY & PEOPLE" is a series where we talk to people who support HERALBONY. In this series, we interview people from all genres who are regularly in tune with HERALBONY's activities and business. We ask these people, who stand out in various fields such as art, business, design, welfare, and culture, "What does HERALBONY mean to you?"

The commemorative first episode was titled "HERALBONY from an Editor's Perspective" and featured Gunji Sayumi, an editor and also known as a fashion creative director.

Following on from the first episode in which we talked about Gunji's encounter with Art Brut, in the second episode we asked him about what prompted him to purchase original paintings and keep them on display.

Part 1: "HERALBONY has made everyone involved happy" - An interview with editor Ayumi Gunji
Part 2: No need for aesthetic judgement. Editor Ayumi Gunji's "Recommendations for buying art that will last a lifetime" → Current article
Part 2: Ayumi Gunji: "HERALBONY's next challenge is the democratization of art"

I thought that "buying art" was something only rich people could do.

--Mr. Gunji often comes to our pop-up shop and has purchased some of our original artwork. I'm very happy about that.

Gunji: For me, the main reason for visiting the pop-up shop is to see the original artwork. There are many artists at HERALBONY that I love.

At the pop-up shop held at Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi last summer (2023), I purchased a work called "African Dress" by Taisuke Kinugasa . I've always liked Kinugasa's work. When I heard that he had a work about fashion that he painted live, I thought that this was a work that was painted just for me, so I decided to buy it immediately (laughs).

Gunji: Yes, I do buy art. Or to be more precise, I have started buying art. This has been happening for the past 7 or 8 years. I had the impression that buying art was something only special people did. Also, I didn't really like owning art, because it felt like an act of ego that monopolized the work.

That all changed when something happened in New York.

 About 10 years ago, when I was visiting New York, a friend of mine invited me to join him at an art auction that was being held nearby the next day. It was a silent auction* held as a charity event for the school his child attended .

*Silent auction: A method of auction where bidders write their desired bid price on a bid sheet, and the person who writes the highest bid at the end purchases the item.

The students' parents bring artworks from their homes, and visitors write prices on the pieces they like and hold an auction. There are expensive pieces that make you think, "Isn't this by a famous artist?" and pieces by unknown artists. It's normal to buy art, and it's also normal to auction it off and exchange it. Art is in circulation among ordinary people, and is part of everyday life, as something to decorate the walls of your home. I was shocked by this, and realized that buying art is not something special.

-What a wonderful story!

When I heard a friend in New York say, "I buy art to support artists I like. It's the same as buying interior goods or furniture," I thought, "I see, that makes sense." However, even with that experience, the hurdle of buying art was still high for me.

I realized that I could buy a piece of art that would last a lifetime for as little as 10,000 yen.

Eventually, the number of "affordable art exhibitions" gradually increased in Japan. Exhibitions where you could buy cheap art for around 10,000 yen and even expensive art for under 500,000 yen began to be held, and art was no longer something that only the wealthy could buy, as it had been in the past.

For example, there is an art fair called " UNKNOWN ASIA " that started in 2015. It is a big event where Asian artists gather, and one day I bought a piece of art that I really liked there for 10,000 yen. I was surprised and asked, "Can you really buy it for 10,000 yen?" (laughs). Since then, I have started buying art pieces for tens of thousands of yen, or even hundreds of thousands of yen, sometimes splurging a little.

Gunji: That's true, but a work of art is something that lasts a lifetime.

I started collecting tableware before I started buying art, and having tableware and art that I like around me makes my days that much more enjoyable, since I see them every day.

Due to the nature of my job, I can't help but compare it to buying clothes or branded items, but for example, you can buy tableware made by an artist for around 3,000 yen. With clothes, you can buy a lifetime item for the same price as buying fast fashion.

Finding an artist you like, listening to their story, and buying a piece that you want to take home is a very happy thing. I still remember the first time I bought a piece, feeling excited and thinking, "I can take such a wonderful thing home with me."

I'd rather buy a piece of art I like than a nice coat

 --Where do you look for works?

Gunji: Rather than "searching" for art, I proactively go to places where I think I might encounter it. Recently, I went to an event held by the YouTube channel " MEET YOUR ART ," which has the concept of "encountering art," and purchased an art piece. I also buy pieces from acquaintances of acquaintances, and from people I work with, so I "encounter" art in a variety of ways.

I think the COVID-19 pandemic has had a big impact on my desire to "encounter" art. At that time, I had a strong desire to make my home a more comfortable space for myself. I couldn't go abroad anymore, and I no longer had a reason to buy clothes, so I thought, "Instead of buying a nice coat, I'd rather buy a piece of art that I like."

Also, when it comes to clothes, I often regret buying them afterwards (laughs). But that doesn't happen with art. There's never been a single piece of art that I've regretted buying.

Recently, I've been buying a variety of things, including works by Suzuki Anne, who is an actor and also a painter, the painting "Angel and Devil" by Pyos, which I purchased at the " Market of Love and Madness " sales counter that I direct at Laforet Harajuku, and other Art Brut works other than Heralbony .

So there is art all over the house. The bathroom in particular is filled with cute art, so when my friends come over they say, "There's no bathroom happier than this."

Art is closer to us than people think, and it's okay to enter that world casually. I hope that my story conveys that.

You don't need to be a discerning art expert to choose art

--I think art is a mirror that reflects what you like. So, an encounter with art can be said to be an encounter with something you truly desire. Maybe that's why you don't regret buying it.

Gunji: That's right. Art looks different when you look at it from the perspective of someone buying it.

When I walk around an exhibition thinking, "I'd like to buy a nice painting," I begin to have a dialogue with the painting. I look at it while imagining, "What would this painting look like if it came to my house?"

When my friends look at my collection they say, "The paintings are so typical of Gun-chan," and in that sense I think my personality is reflected in the paintings I choose.

Even if I go to a lot of art exhibitions, sometimes they don't resonate with me at all. Even if I'm told, "This artist is getting a lot of attention now and the price has gone up by this much..." and then I'm told, "You should buy it," it doesn't resonate with me at all. That's because I'm involved with art in a completely different way from the recent speculative trends in the art industry. I don't buy because the prices are going up, I buy because it feels good.

I think there are many people who think that they need to have a good sense of aesthetics when choosing art. However, that kind of feeling can cloud your eyes. Simply buy a work that gives you the feeling of "I like it." In my case, I choose things that make me laugh, make me feel cheerful, and have vivid colors. When I line them up, I feel that they are "like me."

So I thought it would be good to go shopping for art with the same feeling as if you were going to buy clothes.

In the third episode, we will hear about the "democratization of art" that can be seen through one of the original paintings that Gunji purchased.

→NEXT: Ayumi Gunji: "HERALBONY's next challenge is the democratization of art"