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Interview: Dennis Scholl — Art Collector

Interview:  Dennis Scholl — Art Collector

 

INTRODUCTION:  0:39 min.




Introduction to Dennis Scholl.

 

Dennis Scholl has been an art collector since 1976.  He has also been involved with a number of museums, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Tate, Pérez Art Museum Miami, Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, and the Aspen Art Museum.  Scholl and his wife Debra created a 4000 square foot spaced they called “World Class Boxing” (WCB) to exhibit selections from their extensive collection, including paintings, drawings, sculpture, videos and photography. WCB was named for the prior user of the space, a boxing gym where a number of Olympic and professional boxing champions trained.  In addition, Scholl played a major role at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Scholl has been living in the Miami area since the age of six.  He grew up enjoying what the tropics had to offer a boy–fishing, diving, waterskiing, exploring the Keys–but didn’t have much exposure to art.  He first stepped into an art space while an accounting major at Florida International University, a campus consisting of two buildings at the time.  Even though he lacked an education in visual art, Scholl collected and organized all sorts of things as a youth, so he already had a foundation to support his unexpected dive into the world of fine art.

The videos below are organized by topic and run between 30 seconds to 3:30 minutes.  Click on any video.

 

CURIOSITY:  1:38 min.




Where did you grow up and what was your earliest awareness of art?

 

EDUCATION:  1:15 min.




How did you educate yourself about art?

 

CRITICAL THINKING:  1:53 min.




What did you buy once you began collecting art seriously?

 

BEING AN ART COLLECTOR:  2:14 min.




What makes a person an art collector?

 

SEIZE THE MOMENT:  2:43 min.




Why did you buy a space to exhibit your collection?

 

ART CRITICISM:  1:41 min.




If you were developing a course in art criticism, what are some of the elements you would consider?

 

CHALLENGING SITUATION:  3:20 min.




Describe a challenging situation that you overcame successfully.

 

ABOUT MIAMI:  3:01 min.




What is your view of the Miami visual art community?

 

SUPPORTING MIAMI ARTISTS:  1:55 min.




How well does Miami support local artists?