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Why Congress hates the arts

By

Scott Cantrell/Classical Music Critic

scantrell@dallasnews.com | Bio

2:55 PM on Tue., Feb. 10, 2009 |

An irreverent list from LA Times art critic Christopher Knight:

The culture industry is cosmopolitan, so flag-waving options are few.
The culture industry is pluralistic, but Congress is only marginally so.
As corporations, arts institutions are nonprofit, so there's no money to be made via lobbyists.
Culture is girlie, not manly.
The arts often look at sexual experience -- eek!

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Archived Comments

Posted by Jac Alder @ 7:05 PM Thu, Feb 26, 2009

1. One job artists take seriously is truth-telling. This is not a job politicians take seriously.
2. It is the job of artists -- particularly those who write or perform using the written word -- to comment on the culture's values and of individuals' ethics. Politicians squirm under such inspection.
3. All dramas and comedies are about conflicts of interests (or "wants"). Politicians do everything they can to avoid discussing conflicts of interest.
4. Art is all about freedom of expression. This is a different concept than political correctness.
(Or responding to focus groups).


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