Collecting is a leisure activity, a hobby for people searching and amassing different items in a particular field and keeping them safe. Usually this collecting is done without major financial investment. People used to collect stamps from mail sent to them, separating them from the envelope with infinite care and the stamps were stored in albums according to topic or by country. Generally speaking, the investment is considered in the time and dedication of the collector spent on the collection. It is the same way as children gather napkins or New Year’s greeting cards, awards, key chains or the banknotes from various countries, shells and conches collected on the beach, gum wrappers, marbles and even apricot seeds are collected during the season.
There are even more expensive collections like Judaica, silverware, dolls made of crystal, toys, tools, ceramics, antique furniture, jewelry, books, art as in paintings or sculptures from different areas or different periods. These collections are also financial investments which may lead to future profits for the collector.
Today there is much competition for the leisure time of a person of any age, the media and communications have almost overtaken our lives. Screens of TV, Tablets and Smart phones, browsing the web and contacting friends via the many social networks – require a huge investment of attention and time which is limited. Of course we do not receive a lot of envelopes with stamps any more, most human communication is done via electronic mail and short text messages. Printed books enjoy a short life span and then are converted to reading or listening to via Tablets. Tangible objects are stored in the computer’s memory or on a “wall” or distributed via social networking, observed for a couple of moments and in turn make place for new trends. Take for instance your collection of your favorite images and stick them on the PINTEREST board’s website and share these with others.
It seems that today’s collections are collections that require an investment in time for collectors selecting particular items and their acquisitions are considered an art collection of pictures, sculptures or video installations. These collections can be presented publicly, not only for the collector and his family. For example, video clips are shown in homes where many people are hosted or in offices, museums and public institutions, also hospitals now hang pictures on the walls to entertain the patients. In the past a person’s collection, as a hobby, was considered personal, and now the personal collection can be exhibited in public spaces.