February 7/13

So, we got some art.

Etienne's severance payout came in this week, and among the things he wanted was some more art rentals.  While we have made some small investments in a few pieces over the last couple of years, we can't yet afford the larger pieces, so we rent them from local galleries.

Art rental definitely has its merits (enjoy the art, not the debt!  Bored of looking at it?  Stop renting it!  Change things up!), there are at least two known issues with our rentals:

1) Etienne and I have fairly different taste in art.  My bent runs to the zen-inspiring, introspective pieces, or familiar classics such as Van Gogh and the classic Japanese woodblack prints by Hokusai and such.  Etienne is drawn to very provocative pieces, the contemporary Japanese art movement, and very colourful pieces.  There is some overlap in our tastes in photographic art, and we both appreciate the work of some of the same "old masters", but we generally have to have long lists before we come across pieces in common.  But it does happen.

2) If we really like a piece that we're rented, but we can't afford to purchase it, it's sad to see it go back.  For instance, last year, we had a Jonathan Hobin photo print called 'Dear Leader' at our place for three months, and we both really adored it, but at about $3,000, we couldn't afford to buy it.  It's sad, given the distinctive tastes we each have, that we have to give up something we both could enjoy that much.  It was hard to let it go.

Dear Leader...

...Wish you were here.