James: Contemporary art. We like
work that's edgy, aggressive, conceptual.
Barry: We buy a lot of
photography, but not because we think of ourselves as photography collectors.
What we're really buying is conceptual work. James: Also, a lot of the most
recent stuff is pretty playful (I don't know where that's coming
from).
When did you start collecting?
James: After I first
moved to New York, in 1985 or 1986 I bought a painting in Tompkins Square Park.
Starting in the late '80s, I was involved with ACT UP and we had two major
benefit auctions. I knew some of the artists and that made it approachable.
Also, the cause was wonderful, so I wanted to be a part of it. The prices were
extremely good, even accessible to activists, if you stayed away from the
established names.
Barry: When I was growing up in Arkansas and Texas,
Picasso was the only 20th-century artist I knew, but when I came to New York I
became interested in contemporary art. I started off visiting blue-chip
contemporary galleries, and then eventually found out about places like White
Columns and Art Resources Transfer.
Top: James Wagner, Barry Hoggard with
Lyle Ashton Harris’s Man and Woman #2 Bottom: Hiroshi Sunairi,
Pro-Montage T.V. (detail)
