Staying home, ordered to stay at home, suddenly working from home—we are all suddenly spending so much more time in the place we mostly take for granted. This has forced many of us to look again at our surroundings.
As so much business has moved to online interviews or Zoom meetings, we are all getting glimpses into the insides of other people’s homes. This has caused Marc Clements of Follow the Muse Studio to look with a fresh eye at the art that he and his wife Daphnae Koop have in their own house, collected over twenty years.
Marc told me he is “noticing that people who have no art on their walls are getting much more frustrated with the shutdown than people who have art displayed.” This has reinforced his belief that living with art is an essential part of being at home in your home. In addition to the beauty that original works bring to the home, both Marc and Daphnae believe, as artists and as collectors, that artists leave an essential part of themselves in every piece they create—and that essence adds itself to the atmosphere in the place where it is collected.
For many years, Marc has done a ritual of Krampus postings every Christmas season. He has taken a cue from that practice, and has started a daily post from his art collection on Facebook. He is trying to present the idea that “Living with Art” is important, it beautifies our environments, and enriches us as people in ways we don’t always have language for. His sharing of this daily image showcases the artists that have created the work, at a time when any support is so necessary. It also shows the world that an art collector and art lover does not have to be wealthy or art educated—they just need to give themselves permission to collect what they love.