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ARCHITECTURE, DISPATCHES ART, MUSIC, ARCHITECTURE, FIlM, SHOPPING, NEWS AND THINGS TO MAKE AND DO… ART, MUSIC, ARCHITECTURE, FIlM, SHOPPING, NEWS AND THINGS TO MAKE AND DO…
Tales from The ciTy: New york
words JONATHAN T.D. NEIl
By the time this issue of ArtReview to keep our taxes in check, or to
makes it onto newsstands, the US ensure the kind of art that appeals
presidential primary races will be well to Chardonnay-swilling homosexual
underway. By 5 February, more than 20 socialists stays out of our museums.
states will have held their Republican
and Democratic primaries, and by the We who still think of ‘the arts’ as
end of the month, all of the largest a noun must be very wary of how it
(ie, most populous) states, save for gets played as a political chip. For
Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania, will have example, Senator Clinton’s own campaign
cast the necessary votes to determine information detailing her efforts in
each party’s nominee for presidential ‘Promoting the Value of the Arts and
candidacy. In other words, all of the Humanities’ states that, ‘As President,
supporting actors will have played Hillary will reverse the course of
their parts, but it will finally be the Bush Administration and increase
time for the leads to enter from stage funding for the National Endowment
left and stage right. for the Arts…’ A quick look at NEA
appropriations, however, shows that
funding under Bush rose from roughly
US presidential contestants
$98 million in 2000 to $124m in 2006,
an increase, and one which outpaces
turn to ‘the arts’ as a way
inflation by about $10m. (Notably, it
was under President Bill Clinton’s
of giving themselves that
watch that NEA appropriations suffered
their deepest cuts, from $176m in 1992
well-rounded, enlightened
to $98m in 2000.)
candidate look
It’s not stellar, but it’s hardly
the drop kick issue upon which to
base a candidacy, or one’s vote;
unless, of course, the issue is really
As I write, however, three names still more one of character, in which case
dominate the Democratic contest: Giuliani must be seen to have done
Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and irreparable damage to his own for his
John Edwards. On the Republican side, row with the Brooklyn Museum of Art
things are a bit less decisive, with over Chris Ofili’s The Holy Virgin
Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, John Mary (1996). But that was before 9/11,
McCain, Mike Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani and no one can remember what Rudy was
divvying up most of the media’s like before then anyway, let alone the
attention. The contest up to now has candidate himself.
largely revolved around each candidate
attempting to show the American public These idiocies – and there are more
just how unlike the opposition he or of them, committed by all of the
she may be, while at the same time candidates – make one thing quite
trying to fit into the clothes of the plain: art, let alone ‘the arts’,
ideal candidate stitched by his or her should be left out, or above, the
own party’s so-called base (which, as campaign fray. Mind you, this is in
we all know, consists of Chardonnay- no way meant to suggest that the US
swilling homosexual socialists on the federal government (or state and
left, and Uzi-toting Christian zealots city ones, for that matter) should
on the right). Needless to say, most of be let off the hook for funding arts
the time it’s an awkward fit. programmes, institutions, archives,
nonprofits and, yes, education
Inevitably, though, the candidates programmes at every level. What else
will be asked questions about their are lobbying groups for? But we should
positions on ‘the arts’, which is not have to suffer our political
something of a trick, because for a contestants turning to ‘the arts’ as
political candidate, it’s hard to take a way of giving themselves that well-
a position on something you only know rounded, enlightened-candidate look.
as an adjective: ‘arts’ only ever And given that more than $400m was
precedes ‘funding’ or ‘education’, spent at Art Basel Miami Beach just
where the latter term is good – who this past December, there’s obviously
isn’t for education, after all? – and better money to follow than the sums
the former, a synonym for ‘spending’, Washington and its keepers feel so
is bad – we want less of it, either privileged to dole out.
ArTrEvIEw 38
Dispatches_columns_Feb_NY.indd 38 7/1/08 09:35:58
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