anonymous graffiti captured by I, Splotchy somewhere in Illinois
While the Department of Culture from the outset advocated critical action on broader social issues than just the arts, the arts have become so fundamental to the economy, to the identities and productivity of nations, that attention understandably returns to the arts time and time again.
Yet, while Canadians waited in vain for the major political parties to smarten up and formulate reasoned, intelligent platforms to address the realities of knowledge-based creative economies, our American cousins, at least some of them, were well underway.
Below excerpts from article by Jeremy Gerard of Bloomberg News appearing in the Globe and Mail on November 1, 2008.
Obama’s arts plank ‘unprecedented’
“NEW YORK — Barack Obama writes poetry, gets props from Bruce Springsteen and Jay-Z, and is the first White House contender to include a far-reaching arts plank in his platform.
“The proposals range from increased support for arts education and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), to changing the U.S. federal tax code for artists.
“‘It is unprecedented,’ said Robert L. Lynch, president and chief executive officer of Americans for the Arts, a Washington-based arts advocacy group, explaining that no U.S. presidential candidate in recent times has addressed cultural issues in such detail. …
Republican candidate John McCain, who has consistently voted for cuts in the NEA budget, says arts funding is a local issue. …
Obama began forming his culture plank in the spring of 2007, long before winning the Democratic nomination. He brought together a committee of artists and arts professionals, headed by Hollywood writer, director and producer George Stevens Jr. and Broadway producer Margo Lion.
…
“The committee developed a program that advocates: the creation of an ‘Artists Corp’ of young artists trained to work in low-income schools and communities; the expansion of public-private partnerships to increase cultural-education programs; increased funding for the NEA; a commitment to ‘cultural diplomacy’; attracting foreign talent in the arts; and providing health care to artists.”
“Obama also backs the “Artist-Museum Partnership Act” introduced by Democratic senator Patrick Leahy. It would amend the U.S. Internal Revenue Code to allow artists to deduct the fair market value of their work, rather than just the cost of materials, when they make charitable contributions.”
Read the full article here.
It reminds one that the arts is not a “niche issue” until a right wing ideologue tries to make it one.
The historical tradition of respect for the arts was vividly stated by John F. Kennedy in 1963:
“If sometimes our great artists have been the most critical of our society, it is because their sensitivity and their concern for justice, which must motivate any true artist, makes him aware that our nation falls short of its highest potential. I see little of more importance to the future of our country and our civilization than full recognition of the place of the artist.” [source]
Moreover, the Obama platform on the arts makes it clear that “art-ed” tax credits do not an arts policy platform build; those type of incentives must be part of a well-thought out program that makes it a least conceivable that artists can have productive, sustaining careers.
Read the full text of the Obama art policy in pdf format.
