HERB AND DOROTHY

Herb and Dorothy

Herb and Dorothy is a wonderful and inspiring documentary from 2008. Herb and Dorothy are The Vogels, a postal clerk and a librarian. They collect art, especial Minimalist and Conceptual Art and the documentary is not just about The Vogels, but about the Art they collected, and the Artists themselves.

Herb and Dorothy started to collect minimalist and conceptual art in the early 1960s, around the start of it's inception. They lived solely on Dorothy's salary and dedicated Herb's to purchasing pieces they loved, they could afford and that would fit into their 1 bedroom rent controlled apartment in Manhattan. They became visionaries of the movement, and ended up with priceless pieces of art from artists that went on to become famous or popular. Most of the art was purchased because they liked it, and the artist was usually beginning to produce work. The Vogels almost always became friends with the artists.

Once their collection started to grow, they organised many exhibitions and they became quite famous themselves. No one else had collected the type of work they did, or at the depth they did. Their small apartment soon became cluttered with pieces. There was no space left on any wall or ceiling (including the bathroom) and as pieces or artists became more famous and the work was worth more, they were wrapped and stored within the apartment.

The Vogels considered themselves caretakers of the pieces, with the thought that when they were finished with them, they would go into museums. Indeed many museums courted them in hope of purchasing some of the pieces. But The Vogels were never interested in selling, it wasn't about money. Plus most museums on sold or de-accessioned from time to time and they did not like the idea of that.

The National Galley in Washington soon came to the rescue and took many pieces away to value and inventory. 5 semi trailers took art from The Vogels humble apartment. The director was bemused and shocked at the excess of pieces and the amount stored. He speculated about fire and water damage. The gallery took 2000 pieces (not even half the collection) and have a dedicated space to this collection. The Vogels visit twice a year - they likened it to children leaving for college, they need to make their own way in the world. The Gallery actually paid them an annuity, in hope they might get a nicer apartment, but they just bought more art...

The Vogels themselves are unassuming, humble people, they admit that looking back it would appear they were possessed and that collecting was like a disease. Dorothy said they had been married 45 years and could count on one hand the times they had been separated, "that's the way we like it". They said they blended their aesthetics and had fun and were still having fun...this you could see! They never had children, but they had their art, a cat, Herbie's fish and turtles and of course each other. Their love of each other and their art makes my heart swell.

This would be an amazing documentary if it was only their story, but it also tells the story of conceptual art and the artists. The Vogels never collected because they thought the art/artists would become famous, but because they liked what they saw, and often collected more of one artist as they become friendlier with them. But the Artists did become famous and there were many featured within this film. Sol Le Witt, Chuck Close, Robert Mangold, Richard Tuttle and Jean-Claude and Christo to name but a few. They all thought of Herb and Dorothy as friends and loved hearing their opinion on their work.

Jean-Claude and Christo (who I absolutely adore) were very close to them and had fabulous stories to tell. The Vogels discovered them a little too late, their first work cause such a commotion, their pieces were priced too high and Herbie said they could not afford anything. Christo always sketched plans of their installations prior to the wrappings etc, and they sold these to fund the actual installations. Christo ended up ringing Herb and offering a piece free, but Herb declined. Jean-Claude intervened and said it wasn't exactly free, they were going away and needed someone to look after their cat and knew Herb and Dorothy loved cats, so The Vogels looked after the cat and got their first Jean-Claude and Christo. They also said when they got caught up in a project, they would loose track of what was going on in the art world, all they needed to do was organise dinner with Herb and Dorothy and within an hour they were back on track - The Vogels missed nothing!

Herb and Dorothy is a great film, it is interesting in that no one has ever collected art in the way they have, they are pure people with the love of the pieces being solely behind their collecting. They thought the idea behind the piece was often more important than it's actual execution, for conceptual art it is always the concept and chain of mental process and that will find a form artistically in time.

At the time of filming The Vogels had purchased 4782 pieces of art, and at 86, Herb and 73, Dorothy, were still going strong.

1977 drawing of Dorothy and Herb by Will Barnett

early photo of The Vogels

In their cluttered apartment, note the art on the walls

Recent photo outside the National Gallery in Washington