Collecting Case Studies: James Cahn
James Cahn is a 25-year-old Chicago-based emerging collector and financial consultant. He collects with his partner Jeremiah Collatz, art advisor at Dirk Denison Architects.
How did you start to collect? How long have you been collecting?
I was given a work that actually turned out to be fake, but I enjoyed doing the research about the piece so much that it got me excited about collecting. I started collecting three years ago with modern masters’ prints (Motherwell, Rauschenberg) and then I thought, This is stupid; I should be buying work from artists practicing in my time.
Slater Bradley, Nobody Sings on All Souls Day, 2002 chromogenic development print mounted on plexiglas
What do you look for in works you collect?
It’s a cliché to say “buy what you love,” but it’s true. That said, there is so much I love that I need to somehow constrain the field. I am interested in work that has a strong conceptual component, with roots in art history. This is why I am attracted to artists such as Louise Lawler and Mark Grotjahn. I am really turned off by chasing work that happens to be popular at the moment. At the end of the day, it’s about the object and making sure that I really want to live with it for the long term.
Yutaka Sone, Astro Turf Performance, 1994 color photograph
What advice would you give new collectors?
People talk a lot about developing an “eye.” What that means to me is seeing a lot of art and having strong, independent opinions about what you like. Get involved in the arts community in your area. You learn a lot from talking to other collectors, dealers, and curators. I am on the board of the Society for Contemporary Art at the Art Institute of Chicago and am also a member of the emerging artist advisory committee at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. Buy one good work over five okay works —you’ll be happier. Develop relationships with good dealers. My favorites are David Zwirner in New York, Hauser & Wirth in Zurich, and a local Chicago dealer named Shane Campbell. Do lots of research and be able to talk about the art you buy. For each work I have, I have a reason for buying it and can defend it. That’s both important and fun. And finally, don’t buy art because you think it’s cool. Remember: You may not be able to sell the art you buy, so be ready to live with it for a long time.
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