October 30, 2009
Washington, DC
I thought it might help further the conversation to reply to some of these replies to my speech at Grantmakers in the Arts. I’m not going to argue with those who think the NEA shouldn’t exist, but would like – in the spirit of provocative give and take – to engage a couple of the topics.
First, my comments about the President as author and the references to Teddy Roosevelt, Lincoln, et al. I’m vulnerable here and probably just wrong. Barack Obama wrote, on his own, the manuscript for his first book and went looking for a publisher. Other presidential works have very different provenances. One important one, it is generally accepted, was written by a ghostwriter without credit. Others were written with heavy staff input in the way of researchers and editors. That being said, to state that these other presidents did not write their own books is unprovable and in several cases, probably incorrect. And for what it’s worth, yes, Grant wrote a great book, and Lincoln, an excellent writer, never wrote a whole book per se, his writings were rather collected in one. Score one for the prosecution.
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NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman and National Council on the Arts member Lee Greenwood. Photo by Kathy Plowitz-Worden |
As for Julius Caesar? I made a deliberately outlandish remark, with the delicious (for me, anyway) twist that the last thing people think of with Julius Caesar is that he was a writer. I enjoyed the conceit and never imagined that it would be taken literally. If I have to edit every remark I make because someone somewhere might misunderstand, I’m going to become very dull very fast.
But I don’t want to be a Chairman who just responds to things. We have also been getting some things done. Over the past three days, we had the first meeting of our National Council on the Arts since I became Chairman. And one of the people with whom I spent a nice amount of time was Council member Lee Greenwood. We didn’t just talk about country music…we also talked about my "art works" tour. Lee has lived in Nashville since 1979, and I am hoping to get there the first week in December.
Lee and I also talked about Paducah, Kentucky, another city I am going to visit. People have been telling me about Paducah’s artist program, but Lee told me about some great artists who come out of Paducah – Jerry Crutchfield, Lee’s longtime producer; Jerry’s brother Jan, who is the songwriter responsible for three of Lee’s early hits; Eric Horner, who used to be Lee’s guitarist, but who is now a touring gospel performer; and Doug Carter, Lee’s current keyboardist, bandleader, arranger, and all around good guy. Impressive.
But before Nashville or Paducah, I will be visiting Peoria – on November 6, in fact. And if you are interested, you can log on to our website and see several of the day’s events broadcast live.
I do enjoy this back and forth and look forward to quite a bit of it over the next four years, provided it stays friendly and in the spirit of mutual respect. Keep letting me know how art works where you live.
Rocco
Tags: artists, arts, Barack Obama, community, economy, Lee Greenwood, Nashville, National Council on the Arts, NEA, neighborhood, Paducah, Peoria
Congratulations on the new job! I think your idea’s are right on target for the NEA, especially the message to all American’s that artists work, pay taxes, have children and morgages, and contribute in both unique AND traditional ways to life in America. Perhaps this point could include data that reveals how grossly underpaid most working artists are in America….not that many of us have mortgages!! I look forward to your brilliant voice advocating for change for artists nation wide. All the best, from your former neighbor on the “Mountain”.
“keep letting me know how art works where you live”..as soon as paintings of fruit start filling stomachs, paper mache factories are buzzing with workers, and the local orchestra plays for those in H1N1 vaccine lines.. I’ll let you know.
You are a deeply silly man, Mr. Landesman.
But hey, you produced a photo of yourslf with Lee Greenwood. That’ll mollify the Philistines.
Um. Julius Caeser was in fact a wonderful prose stylist. So I am not certain if your comment here….
“…the last thing people think of with Julius Caesar is that he was a writer.”
…was meant to insult your readers, assuming that they have never read Caesar’s “Commentaries” or worse still, that you are unaware of the fact.
Ditto the fact that Lincoln never wrote a book, etc.
There is nothing wrong with saying “Hey, I was wrong.” But the first Law of Holes is to stop digging.
The fact is, you love this President. Fair enough. You don’t need to say much else.
actually cindy…
paintings of fruit fill many stomachs?
painters sell their works and feed their families with the earnings.
paper mache factories?
not so much… but galleries, museums, symphonies, theaters, arts non profits employ more people than are enlisted in the United States Army.
local orchestras playing at H1N1 lines?
Artists do this daily & the like daily.
http://www.arttherapy.org/
While your note was funny, it shows that you do not afford artists the same honor, respect and dignity you afford doctors, lawyers, police officers or accountant… yes, every other professional american.
but perhaps you dont see artists as ‘professionals’ even though many study their craft with the same diligence every other ‘professional’ does? Perhaps you dont realize that the architects (the building you live and work in), fashion designers (the clothing you wear), product design (the car you drive) and graphic artists (the people who designed the website you are reading this on)… perhaps you dont realize they are artists?
not only is art itself a commodity that is bought, sold, and traded with a vibrant economy surrounding it that employs millions of Americans (and whose fruits you benefit from daily) but the artists themselves live on your block, and pay taxes and have kids who need shoes and h1n1 shots… not to mention the good that the art itself does…
Hi Snotty Cindy..
While I am totally in agreement that “art is a commodity that is bought, sold and traded” what I have a problem with is the government subsidizing this commodity-though stimulus- at a time when families are in need of the very basics…and I do mean the VERY basics. Our local library got an NEA grant to promote the reading of Tom Sawyer..meanwhile our local foodbanks can’t keep up with the demand. If a man is drowning, you don’t throw him a painted canvas, you throw him a life preserver. Later, after he’s dried off, you can take him to the ballet to celebrate.
Mr. Landesman,
Greetings from a fellow Cardinal Fan in St. Louis. Congrats on the new gig! (We are very proud of native sons.)
I understand you are coming to St. Louis on your Art Works Tour and I would love a brief opportunity to talk to you about how the Arts can save the government money.
We have a plan that will eliminate a very expensive social ill – namely all of the problems (crime, teen pregnancy, gang violence, undereducation, unemployment, malnurishment, etc.) that stem from children without families because they have been pulled into the foster care system.
I am describing a reality that we have already begun to see in St. Louis but that can be repeated in every corner of America. A program funded by the Arts that can pro-actively find permanent families for children in Foster Care.
I think it is a great example of how funding the Arts turns into jobs and revenue and can actually reduce costs for the government and us taxpayers.
Would you like to hear more about it?
Thanks,
Jeff Haller
Board President
Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition
Hi Rocco,
Where in St. Louis will you visit? I hope you focus your time in the City.
Hi, my name is Andy Vick, and I’m the Executive Director of the Allegany Arts Council, located in Western Maryland. My organization has the responsibility for co-administering two Arts & Entertainment Districts in our county: one in the City of Cumberland and one in the City of Frostburg. Maryland now has 18 Arts & Entertainment Districts across the State, in locations ranging from major metropolitan areas to rural communities. While they all look to the Maryland State Arts Council for leadership, each District is unique–tailored to the specific needs and characteristics of the cities they serve. However, they all share the same goals of strengthening local arts programming, supporting cultural tourism initiatives, and stimulating economic development and community revitalization.
In the City of Cumberland, where our first District was designated in 2002, our Downtown has once again become the focal point of our cultural community. The sustained energy and vitality of our Arts & Entertainment District has created new opportunities, both financial and creative, for local artists and art organizations, and has brought significant financial benefit to area retailers, restaurants, hotels, and many other businesses. In addition to attracting new artists to relocate our community, our long-time local artists have benefited from (1) an influx of new tourist dollars, (2) the establishment of new arts venues, (3) the development of new arts programming, (4) the creation new opportunities for synergy among artists and across artistic disciplines, and (5) and an enhanced sense of the importance that the arts and culture attractions play in strengthening the fabric of the broader community. In addition to these successes, our Arts & Entertainment District has also lead to the renovation and redevelopment of underutilized properties, and the establishment of new entrepreneurial enterprises–both of which have contributed significantly to an expanded local tax base, and encouraged further private sector investment and economic development in our Downtown area.
On its own, the Arts & Entertainment District concept may not be the “silver bullet” for all of the challenges that we face in our community. However, as part of a larger economic development strategy–in partnership with our Main Street Programs, our local Heritage Area, the County Tourism Department, area business leaders, and our elected officials–I can honestly say that the Arts & Entertainment District concept really does work. I encourage others to learn about our efforts at http://www.alleganyartscouncil.org, and I would like to personally invite Chairman Landesman to visit Western Maryland to see how the arts have positively impacted our community.
Mr. Landesman,
My name is Michael Cochran and I am the Executive Director for the Market House Theatre in Paducah, KY. I was impressed with the materials that Peoria put together for your visit there. As I was reading your blog I saw that you planned a trip to Paducah to see the partnership between the city, business, and artists in the Artist Relocation Program. I hope to have the chance to meet with you when you come to Paducah. We recently completed an Economic Impact Study of the Arts in partnership with our city government and have solid evidence that Art Works in Paducah and Western Kentucky creating almost $40 million in economic activity and sustaining over 800 jobs in our community.
I look forward to your visit to Paducah Kentucky!