Re: more notes from the outback
blah b b blah (jrovira@juno.com)
Sun, 14 Mar 1999 15:07:47 -0500 (EST)
> As to funding of the arts. I do hope the Colonies will
> not repeat the mistakes of the Mother Country & fall
> into the socialist trap of subsidising every Tom, Dick
> & Harry in his delusions of artistic grandeur. Follow
> that route & in no time at all the place becomes choked
> with rafia workers, ensembles for flute & bongo,
> rap epics, make-it-up-as-you-go-along theatrics,
> God knows what...
>
I'm very sorry to say this, but it's already happened. Now we're to the
point where if you try to cut funding for Anything on Any Grounds you're
against freedom of expression and are being censorious.
Just to argue the other side a bit, the Italian Renaissance does speak
worlds about the potential benefits of sponsoring the arts. I wonder
what would have happened if the Medici's hadn't been so generous.
But overall I trust less the rhetoric of the artisitic community than I
do the concerns of those sponsoring them. You **can** make great art
"for money," or "because you have to" -- if you don't believe me, just
take a look at the ceiling of the sistine chapel.
Real genius finds a way.
Jim
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