“We all carry culture within us; whether we wish to or not, it is as embedded in our minds as DNA is in our cell structure. Culture cannot be reduced to elemental terms, such as a painting on a wall or notes resounding in hall, but is a continuing series of experiences that affect every mind in a different way. In the end, culture is worth celebrating as a word, and as a condition not to be endured but used to educate and enliven.”
Category: issues
Saddam Images And Unreality
Video of the execution of Saddam Husein was on the internet within hours. “But the images of his execution and his body seem to point to a new era in the way images are used politically, what might be called a post-propaganda era. So many images that were supposed to have such profound impact on public perception — the now infamous ‘Mission Accomplished’ photo op or Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s bloody head tastefully framed for the cameras — have failed to connect with the reality of either public opinion, or the facts on the ground.”
Rebuilding Oaxaca With Artists?
In recent months Oaxaca, Mexico has been wracked by violent labor protests. “Oaxaca is now counting on perhaps its most precious resource to help lead the city’s comeback: its world-renowned artists and artisans, and its global reputation for exuberant creativity.”
What Becomes A Critic?
“I would not call criticism a vocation in the Weberian sense; nor would I call it a calling, as if it were a summons you could not refuse without disgracing yourself or violating your own deepest nature. But the greatest critics, the ones who animate and advance the discussion, do seem to have a certain need or urgency to communicate in this form that comes from within.”
The Working Non-Profit
A significant number of Americans work in the non-profit sector. “The report by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Civil Society Studies found that U.S. charities had 9.4 million paid workers and another 4.7 million “full-time equivalent” volunteers, for a total workforce of 14.1 million as of mid-2004, the latest date for such information. That paid employment represented 7.1 percent of the country’s total.”
Do Electronic Toys Squelch Creativity?
“Two recent studies suggest that the oft-touted educational benefits of [electronic] toys are illusory, and child development experts caution that kiddie electronics, even those bought purely for fun, can have negative side effects such as inhibiting creativity and promoting short attention spans.”
Protests Over Impending Move Of Famous Art College
“A huge campaign to stop Dartington College of Arts, one of the world’s most celebrated breeding grounds for cutting edge artists, being forced from its bucolic home on the Dartington Estate will gather force this week with a series of meetings and protests.”
A Case For Teaching Art
“The place of the arts in American general education has always been a tenuous one. This being a pragmatic nation, our schools have naturally focused on areas deemed to be of practical value. And since the arts have long been regarded as having no practical utility, they have naturally been marginalized in public education.”
Miss Manners Weighs In On Audiences
“Concert halls and opera houses are packed with belligerent people who disdain complaining politely (with a regretful and sympathetic look) and get right down to insult and violence. Is there something about classical music that inspires this?”
Remembering The Internet (Historically Speaking)
“The average life of a Web page is 100 days. If we don’t aggressively go and archive these materials that we’re depending on, not just for scholarship but for cultural fun and trivial pursuits, they will be gone forever.”