Interview with Mera and Don Rubell at the Rubell Family Collection, Miami

The Rubell Family Collection (RFC) was started in New York in 1964 when Don and Mera Rubell were first married. Since 1993 it has been displayed in Miami at its current, 45’000 square-foot location, and it first opened to the public in 1994. Since then, the Rubell Family Collection has been recognized as the pioneer of what is often referred to as the “Miami model,” whereby private collectors create a new, independent form of public institution.

In 1998 the non-profit Contemporary Arts Foundation (CAF) was created to expand the Collection’s public mission inside the paradigm of a contemporary art museum. Each year CAF presents thematic exhibitions drawn from the collection with accompanying catalogs. The current exhibition bears the title “Beg Borrow and Steal” and deals with the question of artistic influence, revolving around the quote attributed to Picasso: “Good artists borrow, great artists steal.” (see also VernissageTV’s video about the opening of the exhibition).

In this video, art historian and art expert Bettina Krogemann and Don and Mera Rubell sit down in Cady Noland’s installation “This Piece Has No Title Yet” (1989) to talk about the history of the collection and the various aspects of collecting art (Excerpt. Full-length version, 25:58 Min., below).

Interview with Don and Mera Rubell at the Rubell Family Collection, Miami. Miami / Florida, February 4, 2010. A transcript of the interview is going to be published in the German art magazine Weltkunst.

> Right-click (Mac: ctrl-click) this link to download Quicktime video file.

Interview with Collectors Don and Mera Rubell (full-length version, 25:58 Min.):

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