Check out this smart Los
Angeles Times piece about the "well, duh" observation that culture won't be a subject for any question during the Presidential
debates.
"If I were moderating tonight's TV debate," writes Times art critic Christopher Knight, " I'd start with one question and a follow-up, and I'd wait for the flop-sweat: 'Senator, name one great civilization in world history whose government was not a major arts patron. Now, what can we learn from this?'"
In the piece, Knight also drops in the interesting idea that the National Endowment for the Arts (which, he notes, has an annual budget equal to "not quite five hours’ worth of the Iraq occupation") only allow its art museum exhibition grants for shows that are open free to the public.
Your thoughts?
And what arts questions would you ask if you were moderating the debate?
"If I were moderating tonight's TV debate," writes Times art critic Christopher Knight, " I'd start with one question and a follow-up, and I'd wait for the flop-sweat: 'Senator, name one great civilization in world history whose government was not a major arts patron. Now, what can we learn from this?'"
In the piece, Knight also drops in the interesting idea that the National Endowment for the Arts (which, he notes, has an annual budget equal to "not quite five hours’ worth of the Iraq occupation") only allow its art museum exhibition grants for shows that are open free to the public.
Your thoughts?
And what arts questions would you ask if you were moderating the debate?
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It was Mr. Spock that uttered these words: The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. While that attitude would fly in the face of civil rights and rightfully so, it certainly applies to arts funding, which many would view as optional.
However, this fact does not get the government off the hook for providing some support for the arts as part of its role as guaranteeing a certain basic standard of living for its citizens. In particular, public funding for art in public places should be supported, as it conveys to all of us a sense of who we want to be aesthetically, culturally and emotionally.
However, the questions in Knight's article are MUCH more thought-provoking, especially the one about rebuilding the Iraqi National Museum and the one about giving artists who donate their work a tax deduction same as collectors get, so now I feel a little silly.
But I'd still like to know.
Hope Baugh
www.IndyTheatreHabit.com