Farewell Mapplethorpe, Hello Shakespeare (Roger Kimball on NEA, the W. way)

National Review Online ^ | January 29, 2004 | Roger Kimball

[NutCrackerBoy]

Farewell Mapplethorpe, Hello Shakespeare
The NEA, the W. way.

By Roger Kimball

Under normal circumstances, the White House announcement that the president was seeking a big budget increase for the National Endowment for the Arts might have been grounds for dismay. Pronounce the acronym "NEA," and most people think Robert Mapplethorpe, photographs of crucifixes floating in urine, and performance artists prancing about naked, smeared with chocolate, and skirling about the evils of patriarchy.

Thanks, but no thanks.

But things have changed, and changed for the better at the NEA. The reason can be summed up in two trochees: Dana Gioia, the distinguished poet and critic who is the Endowment's new chairman.

Within a matter of months, Mr. Gioia has transformed that moribund institution into a vibrant force for the preservation and transmission of artistic culture. He has cut out the cutting edge and put back the art. Instead of supporting repellent "transgressive" freaks, he has instituted an important new program to bring Shakespeare to communities across America. And by Shakespeare I mean Shakespeare, not some PoMo rendition that portrays Hamlet in drag or sets A Midsummer Night's Dream in a concentration camp. (Check the website www.shakespeareinamericancommunities.org for more information.)

Mr. Gioia is moving on other fronts as well. He has hired a number of able deputies who care about art and understand that what the public wants is more access to good art — opera, poetry, theater, literature — not greater exposure to social pathology dressed up as art. After a couple of decades of cultural schizophrenia, the NEA has become a clear-sighted, robust institution intent on bringing important art to the American people.

It's quite odd, really. People keep telling us — that is, professors and CNN commentators and Hollywood actors keep telling us — how very stupid President Bush is. Yet everywhere one looks he is supporting some of the most intelligent and dynamic people ever to occupy their cultural posts. Dana Gioia at the NEA, his counterpart Bruce Cole at the National Endowment for the Humanities, Leon Kass and his panel of distinguished scientists and philosophers at the President's Council on Bioethics (see their website www.bioethics.gov to get a sense of the good work they are doing on clarifying the enormous moral issues surrounding the debate over biotechnology). The Left keeps screaming about how dim George Bush is, but in the meantime, he has illuminated one area of public life after another with immensely talented and articulate people.

There is plenty of room for debate about whether and to what extent government should be directly involved in funding culture. But there can be no argument that if we are going have public support of the arts, it should be done in an enlightened and life-affirming way. This is the George Bush approach to cultural reinvigoration. Conservatives — by which term I mean people who are interested in conserving what is best from the past — should applaud his efforts. After years in the wilderness, the NEA has finally come home.

— Roger Kimball is managing editor of The New Criterion and author of Art's Prospect: The Challenge of Tradition in an Age of Celebrity.

[JoJo Gunn]

Holy Mother of God! What a PR puff piece.

Did Rove see the s**tstorm here last night and have this rushed out?

[kevkrom]

Doing it "right" is still no excuse for the government to be funding the NEA at all in the first place...

[wizardoz]

I'm glad to hear this. I saw the "Cremaster" display in New York 6 months ago. Nothing like some gay guy with arrested psychological development playing out his Greek-mythology/Masons-coming-to-get me weirdness on the public dime to sour one's trip to the Big Apple.

[Cosmo]

Did you check out Gioia's website? Looks pretty legitimate.

Many years ago, when my father was fairly well connected to the Reagan Whitehouse, a very famous ( multiple Tony award winning) Broadway producer came to him to ask that he promote his name to Reagan's people as a possible high-ranking official at the NEA. This was a man of tremendous character and tasteful artistic sensibilities. If things had worked out, and if more people like him had been left to guide the NEA, many of us might well have a different opinion of the NEA today. My point being, that regardless of what I think about Government sponsorship of the arts, it looks indeed like Gioia might just be this kind of man, and that he might just be able to make this organization acceptable to us in many respects.

[George W. Bush]

Rove don't get it. It's the existance of the NEA that is the problem. My opposition differs not one whit.

Mapplethorpe or motel art, I don't care.

The money is wasted. Spend it on keeping soldiers' families off food stamps. Or just don't borrow (tax) the funds to begin with.

They seem to think we prefer one variety of liberalism over another.

[KantianBurke]

ITS UNCONSTITUTIONAL YOU DOLT!! I don't care if they do ANOTHER remake the Lord of the Rings! Add to the fact its immoral and simple theft!

Finally Goya won't be around forever nor will Dubya. Their replacements might be Libs who will have quite the time doling out this "increase."

[gov_bean_ counter]

Rush appears to be using FR as his "show prep" tool again.

[Cosmo]

Think he's reading this thread?

Hi Rush:)

[NutCrackerBoy]

If you compare the constitutionality of the welfare state versus the constitutionality of modest arts funding, I think a better case can be made for arts funding. Neither would pass the Madison test, of course. But let's keep things in perspective, both in the intent relative to the Constitution, and in the size of the cost.

President Bush is playing with the cards dealt him.

[over3Owithabrain]

Big Government is good, so long as the right people are running it, huh?

That's the same argument my socialist/communist in-laws make - we just need the right people to run the nanny state.

[gov_bean_ counter]

Seemed to pick up the topics as soon as they were posted. Coinkidink?

[wizardoz]

Just out of curiosity, why did you go in the first place?

I was dragged in by the folks I was visiting. They aren't very politically aware, although by the time we left I could see that they had a pretty bad taste in their mouths and I have high hopes for their future development.

[Spok]

I don't know how many votes GWB thought this would buy him but I'm getting very disenchanted with my president. He's either taking the conservative vote for granted or decided he doesn't need it.

[NutCrackerBoy]

Rush got it off National Review Online where it was posted at 11:38 am. Posted on FR at 1:37 pm.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

Bump.

[skinkinthegrass]

Rush appears to be using FR as his "show prep" tool again.

??...meaning no offence. Is that bad? :|