This article is spot-on. Both in the arts, and in general, both governments and Cdn institutions have taken their eye off the ball. Investment in the arts is incredibly important and enriches us all. It's one area where govt needs to be involved, but they can't do it without resources. They need to spend wisely, stick to their knitting, and support the arts!
An important topic to cover, thanks to Kate for bringing up what is a blind spot for conservative politicians. A few points to bring up.
Would drag queen storytelling be accepted if they were reading to the children Ayn Rand instead of Judith Butler? I think most would say no, of course, but we'd have to be a culture that understands "the medium is the message" and those McCluhan commercials aren't on TV any more.
People need to join these various organisation's boards and start making sane decisions that temper these obviously revolutionary and political works, and the Quislings who want to burn the whole thing down.
When a government is the patron of the arts, you get Social Realism (as in the case in the Soviet Union). So, as Kate mentioned, there has to be patronage from somewhere, although the tax break that passes rarely sends the now-somewhat-more wealthy to beeline it to the gallery's door.
Roger Scruton argued the hierarchical "better" of high-society art. Classical music over the crass pop music of the day. Neoclassic art over the nihilistic Viennese Actionism. Are we willing to be a culture that accepts hierarchy again? The aristocrats valued and promulgated the arts, which the oligarchs never did (instead made art into speculative bubbles and now private equity firms own far too much cultural output).
At the end of the day, I don't think most people like didactic art that simply exists to lecture people. It seems like that's all there is and there's obviously a source of income that sustains this form of 'expression' not tied to declining numbers at concert halls, theatres, galleries and the like. Slowly but surely these institutions do run of money, close and we're all so occupied with staying at home on our screens that we don't see the ruinous landscape of what will likely be forever lost.
Great work coming out the gate WD.
This article is spot-on. Both in the arts, and in general, both governments and Cdn institutions have taken their eye off the ball. Investment in the arts is incredibly important and enriches us all. It's one area where govt needs to be involved, but they can't do it without resources. They need to spend wisely, stick to their knitting, and support the arts!
Amen! Bc if we dont, we’ll be inundated with post modernist slop. We cant outsource this to the crazies.
An important topic to cover, thanks to Kate for bringing up what is a blind spot for conservative politicians. A few points to bring up.
Would drag queen storytelling be accepted if they were reading to the children Ayn Rand instead of Judith Butler? I think most would say no, of course, but we'd have to be a culture that understands "the medium is the message" and those McCluhan commercials aren't on TV any more.
People need to join these various organisation's boards and start making sane decisions that temper these obviously revolutionary and political works, and the Quislings who want to burn the whole thing down.
When a government is the patron of the arts, you get Social Realism (as in the case in the Soviet Union). So, as Kate mentioned, there has to be patronage from somewhere, although the tax break that passes rarely sends the now-somewhat-more wealthy to beeline it to the gallery's door.
Roger Scruton argued the hierarchical "better" of high-society art. Classical music over the crass pop music of the day. Neoclassic art over the nihilistic Viennese Actionism. Are we willing to be a culture that accepts hierarchy again? The aristocrats valued and promulgated the arts, which the oligarchs never did (instead made art into speculative bubbles and now private equity firms own far too much cultural output).
At the end of the day, I don't think most people like didactic art that simply exists to lecture people. It seems like that's all there is and there's obviously a source of income that sustains this form of 'expression' not tied to declining numbers at concert halls, theatres, galleries and the like. Slowly but surely these institutions do run of money, close and we're all so occupied with staying at home on our screens that we don't see the ruinous landscape of what will likely be forever lost.