The Accidental Masterpiece: The Art of Collecting

In this fifth chapter of Michael Kimmelman's The Accidental Masterpiece, entitled "The Art of Collecting Lightbulbs," Kimmelman explores the nature of the "art" of collecting. I put the "art" in quotation marks because, as Kimmelman argues, collecting is a form of art that is hardly recognized by the "hoity-toighty" art world. His anecdote to Albert Barnes speaks for itself in this case. For this chapter, I'm going to deviate from my standard chapter response - an analysis of the anecdotes, commentary on his form, and so on - and get a bit more personal. First off, the subject of Hugh Hicks' lightbulb collection intrigues me to no end. As a history buff, I find it amazing that one man was able to compile relics from so many different places from multiple periods of time. The fact that his entire collection of seventy-five thousand bulbs fit in his basement alone astounds me. Beyond that, Hicks' comment about reincarnation is pretty interesting in itself. I can't be the only person who's looked at people who died just before they were born and wondered if there was any significance. Jimmy Stewart died thirty days before I was born, and he's a pretty stiff guy...all jokes aside, you can't help but look at people who lived before your time and see some similarities. It's probably just the power of suggestion, like the mumbo jumbo about zodiac signs that applies to most people. That the man William Hammer, who collected over a hundred thousand light bulbs, died only a month before Hicks' birth is an amazing coincidence, if not a bit odd. Personally, I'd rather be the second coming of George Washington than the second coming of one of Thomas Edison's workers, but hey - to each his own.