My name is James Arriaga. I’m born and raised in Southern California and have been collecting art for twenty-plus years. What started with just collecting Mars Volta concert posters and work from underground graffiti artists that I met at hip hop shows, led me down a rabbit hole of collecting art from all over the world. My collection consists of a couple hundred works, some of which have been loaned to museums and many are with family and friends because I don’t believe art is meant to sit in storage, it’s meant to be lived with. And even though I’ve long since run out of wall space, that doesn’t stop me from bringing home new works.
– Weirdest material of an artwork that you’ve purchased?
One of my favorite works in my collection is by Aaron D. Estrada called Desmadre. It consists of razor wire, car lug nuts, gas tank camp, sweater poncho amongst other things. It is essentially meant to look like a rim that is made of barbed wire. He did an entire series of them and I think they are all incredible.
– What do you require from an artist you collect?
Nothing. It is easy to get caught up in a name or a brand for an artist but some of my favorite works in my collection are works that just spoke to me and I was drawn too. I think the mystery can be a little more exciting than when you get to purchase a work you’ve been after for a long time. Yes it is great to build a collection with established and emerging artists but I once commissioned a work by an unhoused individual who made a mural of La Virgen de Guadalupe on 18th and Hoover in downtown Los Angeles over the course of a couple weeks. Something about his work spoke to me and I would visit him often to drop off cigarettes and burritos and over time I was able to convince him to make me a smaller version for my home. I offered him a canvas and supplies but he preferred to work on found material. I feel like I should require nothing from an artist other than their trust to be a custodian of their work.
– Most valuable lesson learned from collecting?
Never buy to flip or sell. Any good collector is good at collecting because they have good taste and when you veer away from your taste to just make money, then you’ve lost the plot.
– Any advice to new collectors?
Buy what moves you, speaks to you, and that you love. I can’t ignore that there is a financial aspect to some of this but you have to also know that this could all become worthless so it must be priceless to you. If I woke up tomorrow and everything I own becomes worthless, then – I can still live happily as all the works on my walls speak to my soul.
– Top three deceased artists?
This constantly changes but lately it’s Margaret Kilgallen, Martin Wong and Frida Kahlo.
