Justin Enger, South Dakota - MEET THE COLLECTOR Series Part Thirty Six
I have never met the collector for part thirty-six of my ‘Meet the Collector’ series, but we have chatted over email several times. I found it fascinating to see the photos that Justin Enger had been posting on his instagram of his collection and the individual pieces in it, so he seemed an obvious choice to interview. Read more about his eclectic collection here.
Justin Enger
1. When did your interest in the field of outsider/folk art begin?
For as long as I can remember I’ve always collected something, as a kid I collected rocks and stamps and as I got older I started collecting vintage furniture and antiques. I think my first exposure to an “outsider” artist was reading a book called “I Bought Andy Warhol” by Richard Plosky. In the book he talked about an artist called the Philadelphia Wireman; I was intrigued and that lead me to search out the work and learn more about it. Long story short that lead me to Stone’s Gallery and Fleisher/Ollman Gallery and that was my first introduction to an “outsider” artist. This was around 2005 and I’ve been striving to look, learn, listen and collect ever since.
Art by: Mike Noland, Laura Craig McNellis, Sanford Darling, Pearline Cruz, John Ricardo Cunningham, TL Solien and William Anhang
2. When did you become a collector of this art? How many pieces do you think are in your collection now? And do you exhibit any of it on the walls of your home or elsewhere?
I did end up buying a Philadelphia Wireman work and several more over the next year or so and of course started to look at other artists the galleries showed. I think I bought a small James Castle next. I’m not sure how many pieces are in the house, a few hundred maybe, but I do tend to like small works and they add up fast. Also, everything is up and out for the most part. I’ve always been an out of sight, out of mind type of person, so if it is not out I don’t see a point in having it. That being said pieces do come and go. I am happy to live and learn from works and move them along to acquire something new. There is a core group of works that I’d like to be buried with though, ha!
3. Can you tell us a bit about your background?
I live in South Dakota, so it is generally not an art hub, with the exception of a long and great tradition of Native American art. I don’t mean to say that there are not talented people creating art, but rather very few venues for viewing art. I don’t really have an art background, but do have a degree in government and anthropology - the anthropology part being the more interesting part. Most of my art viewing has been done through books and online and the occasional trip to the Nelson Atkins Museum and the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
Art by: Donald Henschel, The Friern Hospital Collection, anonymous Folk Art and the hand was in the collection of Herbert Hemphill.
4. What is it that draws your eye away from contemporary art to outsider/folk art? Or do you collect both?
The gallery I acquired the Philadelphia Wireman from also shows contemporary art and I did end up acquiring works from a couple of contemporary artists too. I also have an interest in Chicago Imagist work and draw inspiration from the collecting style of Ray Yoshida and Roger Brown. Imagist artists have long championed vernacular and “outsider” art. Jim Nutt and Gladys Nilsson helped promote Martin Ramirez and Joseph Yoakum. The bulk of my collection though, is made up of American folk art and “outsider” art.
5. What style of work, if any, is of particular interest to you within this field? (for example is it embroidery, drawing, sculpture, and so on)
The bulk of the collection is comprised of anonymous American folk sculpture and that tends to be what I seek out. I think my favorite artist will always be anonymous. I also find folk art textiles to be wonderful, but space is often a limitation on me collecting them.
Folk figure of a girl with four arms. Photo credit: Steven S Powers
6. Would you say you had a favourite artist or piece of work within your collection? And why?
The easy answer is “the next piece”, but there is a folk figure of a girl with four arms that I do especially love. When I first saw the piece in Roger Ricco and Frank Maresca’s book “American Vernacular” I thought it was so creepy and wondered why anyone would want to live with that thing. Years passed and I ended up owning it and I absolutely love it - I still find it challenging, but that only adds to the appeal. I do feel things need to hold their own against the other works in the house, if I stop “seeing” them, then they might need to move along.
Art by: Jon Serl and the Dufala Brothers
7. Is there an exhibition in this field of art that you have felt has been particularly important? And why?
I know most of the major one’s have been mentioned by people you have previously interviewed, but I do think there is a great debt owed to galleries and dealers who mount shows that might not always be a commercial success, but show the dialog that disparate works can have with each other and show works that are far from what could be considered mainstream.
8. Are there any people within this field that you feel have been particularly important to pave the way for where the field is at now?
Again previous interviews have mentioned the big influences in the field, so I’ll take this question at a personal level. I personally was introduced to folk/vernacular art through Ricco/Maresca’s books “American Primitive” and “American Vernacular”. I still get a thrill looking through both of these books. There are a handful of dealers that I do draw inspiration from; Aarne Anton, Josh Lowenfels, Frank Maresca and Steven Powers – they all can present objects that give me a thrill and challenge me. As far as fellow collectors go, Peter Brams and Mickey and Jill Baten’s collections have served as a benchmark of what a collection should be.
Art by: Daniel Gonçalves, Stephen J.M. Palmer and Mrs. George Dunham
9. Where would you say you buy most of your work from: a studio, art fairs, exhibitions, auctions, or direct from artists?
I feel that the best collecting relationship is one that is built over time with a dealer. It is like most relationships, either it works or it doesn’t, but when you find someone that can see your vision and gets it, great things can happen.
10. A conflicted term at present, but can you tell us about your opinion of the term outsider art, how you feel about it and if there are any other words that you think we should be using instead?
Better minds than mine are debating this as I type. All I can say is great is great.