-MY ALISON ANGEL COLLECTION- is finally complete (until the next hunt). 12 dolls. 10 years of searching. Zero regrets. 🎀👼💄 Which one should I unbox next?
Every collection has its "white whale," but mine started with a misfire. It was a rainy Tuesday in the spring of 2018. I was scrolling through an online estate sale in the early hours of the morning, bleary-eyed and coffee-less, when I saw it: a grainy thumbnail of an early Alison silver gelatin print.
Alison’s early work is defined by a particular softness—a diffusion of light that makes the subject look like a memory rather than a photograph. The price was insultingly low, which told me the seller had no idea what they possessed. I won the bid for $12.50. -MY ALISON ANGEL COLLECTION-
When the package arrived, wrapped in brown paper and twine, I understood immediately why collectors lose their minds. The texture was tactile. The signature in the bottom right corner was not a stamp, but a pressure dent in the paper. That night, I cleared a space on my wall. I didn’t know it then, but that empty space was the first plot of land in the country of -MY ALISON ANGEL COLLECTION-.
"Own a piece of the -MY ALISON ANGEL COLLECTION- — a limited-run celebration of Alison Angel: art, apparel, and keepsakes crafted for fans." -MY ALISON ANGEL COLLECTION- is finally complete (until
This is the "Ghost Phase." The works in this era are characterized by high grain, double exposures, and a Victorian mourning aesthetic. My prize piece from this era is a 4x5 contact sheet featuring the "Hanging Garden" series. Unlike her later, more polished work, these images feel accidental and sacred.
A true collection cannot live on love alone. It requires sacrifice. Here are the artifacts I am most proud to protect: Every collection has its "white whale," but mine
-MY ALISON ANGEL COLLECTION- is currently standing at 132 pieces. That includes 47 published prints, 6 originals, 22 proofs, and the rest ephemera (postcards, vinyl records featuring her cover art, and one very strange ashtray from a Berlin pop-up).
But I am not stopping. Alison has a new show opening in Seoul next spring. I have already liquidated my "emergency fund" (art is the emergency) to prepare for the purchase.
I am also in the early stages of trying to contact the artist herself. I do not want an appraisal. I want to know if she approves of the hanging height. I want to know if she is tired of the Lace & Linoleum chair.
If you are reading this and you own a single Alison Angel print, even a poster, you already understand. You are already building your own collection. Do not let the snobs tell you that you need a gallery to be a curator. A collection lives where the passion is.