Ohio is widely considered to be one of the three or four most important states in any presidential election, and presidential candidates sink millions of advertising dollars into the state’s television markets. And yet, voter turnout in the Buckeye State is no better than in any other part of the country. Enter Operation Ohio, a touring group of big-name authors holding get-out-the-vote efforts at colleges and universities across the state. The events are billed as non-partisan, but there is a distinct anti-Bush ring to the speeches.
Category: issues
Is Political Correctness Smothering Art?
As the phenomenon known either as “contextualization” or “historical revisionism” (depending on your point of view) continues to remake our view of art, a new book suggests that political correctness has turned much of art history into a collection of palatable lies. In the author’s view, “the history of Western art—art spanning continents and centuries—is being systematically turned on its head and rendered unrecognizable to anyone who approaches such matters from within the boundaries of normal human understanding.” In other words, the intellectuals are just ruining art for all the normal people.
If You Are A Terrorist, Your Grant Will Be Denied
“The Ford Foundation, a major arts-supporting organization, checks its applicants and grantees daily against terrorism watch lists … yet this is not unique: Philanthropies must now comply with laws designed to prevent terrorists from using not-for-profits to finance their activities. The question is how aware arts groups are of the practice.”
Rushdie To Congress: Leave Readers Alone
Objecting to the government “noseying into what should be personal creative space,” author Salman Rushdie presented the U.S. Congress with a petition signed by 180,000 people, calling for the repeal of provisions of the Patriot Act that give investigators access to individuals’ book-buying and library records.
Mistaking Cheerleading For Education
Populism is one thing, but the new Museum of the American Indian seems so taken with the idea of pleasing the masses that it has actively ignored any serious discussion of the role of native peoples in the history of America, says Timothy Noah. “The new museum stubbornly refuses to impose any recognizable standard of scholarship, or even value, on the items in its galleries… The museum’s curators regard the very notion of a Native American cultural heritage as anathema because it clashes with the museum’s boosterish message that Native American culture is as vibrant today as it ever was. This isn’t a museum; it’s a public service announcement.”
Do We Really Need Critics?
In an age when fewer and fewer people read newspapers, and even fewer want to be told what to think about their choice of entertainment, who exactly are arts critics writing for? Increasingly, it seems that the only people who read reviews are other critics and the people being reviewed. “So are critics necessary? Many are genuine experts in their field, whether it be art, music or literature, and they offer erudition as well as opinions. But some, notably in the performing arts, clearly savor their power, a power that comes from burying, not from praising… And there lies the problem: most people who buy a ticket for a play or a movie or an opera or a ballet want, above all, to enjoy themselves.”
Journalist Sacked For Controversial Paintings?
A British journalist is claiming that she was fired by London’s Daily Mail because of her sideline as a Stuckist painter. Stuckism is a widely-reviled art movement founded in 1999 “to promote contemporary figurative painting with ideas and oppose the pretensions of Britart – particularly anything involving dead animals or beds”. The newspaper denies that Jane Kelly’s dismissal had anything to do with her artwork, but isn’t saying why they would fire one of their top writers, either.
Anxious Times Breed Uncertainty For Presenters
For presenters of international performing artists, the task has never been easy. “And the challenge has become ever more daunting in an age of finicky audiences, straitened budgets and international uncertainty.”
What Does Denmark Know That Canada Doesn’t?
While much smaller countries like Denmark put serious money into exporting culture, there isn’t nearly enough funding to promote Canadian artists and writers abroad. “Our top performing arts companies have to focus instead on surviving, because government cutbacks have left them without enough money to operate at home, let alone travel.” But culture may be the most important export Canada has to offer the world.
Because If We Edit Them, Then The Terrorists Have Already Won?
A little-known corner of U.S. trade law is being challenged in court on First Amendment grounds by a group of editors and publishers. “The regulations, meant to keep Americans from trading with enemies, require anyone who publishes material from a country under trade sanctions [Cuba, for instance] to obtain a license before substantively altering the manuscript. The publishers say that keeps them from performing typical editing functions like reordering sentences and paragraphs, correcting grammar and adding illustrations or photographs.”