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Exhibit Shows Variety of Interests: Eclectic Collections Abound

Posted on: Wednesday, 10 May 2006, 06:00 CDT

By John Shultz, The Kansas City Star, Mo.

May 10--History has always had its collectors, a breed distinguished from the less-esteemed pack rat by a whisker-thin line of focus and organization.

For the Neanderthals, it was stones and shells. Renaissance hipsters went more for New World exotica, with ceiling-hung canoes and stuffed alligators as the benchmark of cool.

Fast forward a few centuries, and the organizers of the annual Crown Center curious collectibles show that opened this month -- Oodles More Things People Collect -- have dueling displays of Hello Kitty.

Now in its 10th year, the collectibles display remains a popular draw for those whose curiosity tends towards things curious. For those not so inclined, the 120 or so oddball collections are apt to inspire a query or two.

Foremost: Why?

The urge to gather otherwise useless junk far predates the dawn of the officially-designated collectible figurine, said John Simmons, collections manager at KU's museum of Natural History. (And to be fair, the signed, stamped and numbered collectible is kinda like cheating, as far as the Oodles organizers are concerned.)

"It comes down to something pretty fundamental, which is objects have power," Simmons said. "So when we collect objects, we collect their power."

So if Middle-Ages types gathered precious stones for their purported healing properties, what do modern folks shovel in to their homes in that purported quest for some mystical power? The Oodles show may hold a clue.

Ratty, discarded shoes, apparently. Broken-off zipper tabs. Statues of old people.

But what possible power could an old slipper carry?

Not much for Lee and Paul Heinemann, the stray shoe gatherers. They're more interested in the mystery behind the refuse. That and, being 13 and 9, respectively, because the lost shoes to them are weird.

"It's just really strange," said Lee. "How do you lose a 4-inch gold pump? You think you'd notice."

So for about a year now, the Heinemann brothers, aided by their parents (mostly mom), have snatched up the abandoned shoes that not-infrequently dot the gutters of many a developed area. They won't take too many risks -- the one that got away stood in the middle of Interstate 435 -- but otherwise, if they see them, they'll get them.

The Holy Grail, for Lee, is a prosthetic leg.

Don Turley, who works up at the Kansas City International Airport, shares the same gene.

His target, though, are the zipper tabs broken off luggage.

As Turley explains it, objects like that need to be cleared from the airport grounds lest they be sucked up by jet engines. That part's clear enough.

The rest may only ever be clear to Turley.

But Turley started keeping the tabs. First on a key ring, then in a mayonnaise jar. He's got about 200 now.

"Some of them are really intricate, there's like etchings and stuff on them," Turley said. "Somebody got paid to design these zipper tabs, and they got broken off and now they're just garbage.

"They're really little miniature works of art."

Marjorie Swann, an associate English professor at the University of Kansas and a self-made expert on collecting, has found many explanations for the phenomenon.

"Collecting is understood to be a central process of identity formation in the Western world," she said. "It's been with us for hundreds of years because it can do so many things for so many different kinds of people."

Swann said collecting may fulfill some deep-seeded psychological need. It can also be a social aid, bringing collectors in touch with other collectors.

"It's a way for people to relate to other people," she said.

It's not uncommon for the dedicated collectors to collect more than one thing. Oodles organizers back that up, noting some of their collectors have appeared in more than one year with new collections. Many talk about other items they collect.

The Heinemanns, for example, each have other collections in their bedrooms.

Lee's amassed stuffed orangutans and designer robot dummies.

Paul's other interest is a little less memorable: he collects football cards, which his brother dismissed with a hint of disdain.

"That's typical," said Lee. "I'm a hoarder."

Organizers of the Oodles event say the stories behind the collections can be as intriguingly out-there as the items themselves. Cards included with each display give a brief bio of the collector, and, perhaps a clue into the collector's psyche.

"The bios are as fun as the collections," said Pat Krehbiel, a retail marketing manager at Crown Center and honcho of the Oodles show.

And the collections need to be fun above all else, Krehbiel said. Each year, visitors to the show can sign a guest book and explain their own collecting interests and maybe earn an invite next year.

The only thing the organizers are looking for is something quirky, like this year's used gift card display. About 30 items is ideal. They don't like to repeat displays from year to year, though a few show veterans were called back for this year's 10th anniversary. There's no age limits; a lot of kids contribute, but they aren't the majroity.

Collections can't be too offensive, but a touch of creepy is apparently okay: Krehbiel fondly remembers a collector who clipped together discarded notes and shopping lists.

"We want to do things that people will walk in and say 'who would ever collect that?' " said Krehbiel.

That means the show boasts an assortment of stuff from the mundane to the practically racy. There's things that could be found lying around anyone's grandparent's house -- old candy bar boxes and vintage board games -- and things that wouldn't -- Viagra-branded paraphernalia.

"We had teeth one year," said Haley Jeter, whose helped set the displays up for years now. "I wore gloves."

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To reach John Shultz, call (816) 234-4427 or send e-mail to jshultz@kcstar.com.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Kansas City Star, Mo.

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Source: The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Missouri)

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