For politics' sake - Artists can't fathom why John Kerry lost

The World Magazine ^ | 11-19-04 | by Gene Edward Veith

[Oldeconomybuyer]

 

The prize for the most unintentionally humorous reason given by a liberal for why President Bush defeated John Kerry—in a contest with many entries—has to go to Alan Woods, an Ohio State drama professor quoted in the Chicago Tribune: "We are now reaping, in election results, the consequences of the colossal reductions in art education."

Mr. Woods was trying to figure out why Americans reelected the president even though the nation's artists told them not to.

Bruce Springsteen organized his fellow rock stars into the Vote for Change tour, with John Mellencamp, the Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, R.E.M, the Dixie Chicks, James Taylor, and others staging concerts to elect Mr. Kerry. Rapper Eminem put out an anti-Bush video. P. Diddy put out "Vote or Die" T-shirts and got multitudes of rap fans to register to vote, and not for Mr. Bush.

Hollywood did its part to instruct the masses, Fahrenheit 9/11 being only one of the anti-Bush movies. Documentaries almost never make it into mainstream movie theaters, but just before the election the local multiplex was playing fare like Bush's Brain (on the president's sinister Svengali, Karl Rove), The Hunting of the President (on the vast right-wing conspiracy that tried to overthrow Bill Clinton), Outfoxed (unveiling the shocking secret that Fox News is conservative), and Going Up River (about the thrilling exploits of John Kerry).

Theatrical releases too were designed to inform the American public about the issues. The Day After Tomorrow hyped global warming and the supposed consequence of the current administration's failure to sign the Kyoto treaty. The Manchurian Candidate remade the classic about a Communist attempt to take over the country into a conspiracy theory about big business controlling the political process so it can profit from a war in Iraq. Silver City made a parody of President Bush the villain in a murder mystery.

The more serious arts establishment also mobilized to defeat President Bush. The drama scene featured The Bushie Plays and W! as well as anti-Bush ridicule written into the Broadway hits Avenue Q and Hairspray. Museums and art exhibits also did their part. Celebrities campaigned, patrons gave money to the Democrats and their 527 funds, and many arts professionals did mundane tasks such as work on the get-out-the-vote effort for Mr. Kerry.

And all to no avail! What is wrong with this country, that it doesn't listen to its artists? Mr. Woods has concluded that America just does not understand art, and that's what we get for cutting back on art education.

To be sure, there were also conservative artists glad that President Bush was reelected, not all of whom were in the field of country music. But the question remains: Aren't the arts, for good or for bad, influential? How is it that all of these artists had so little impact on the country whose culture they supposedly embody?

First of all, an artist's opinion about politics, government, or public policy is not necessarily better than anybody else's. An artist, by virtue of his art, is no authority on topics such as nuclear physics, economics, theology, or other spheres outside his calling.

An artist's sphere of expertise is his art. That may entail the ability to pretend to be someone else, the ability to play a musical instrument, the ability to make up rhymes really fast, the ability to draw pictures, or the ability to tell a story. These may be valuable gifts that can enrich our lives and contribute to the overall culture. But they do not entitle artists to be rulers.

Mr. Woods seems to think that art education, fully funded, would teach children to do what artists tell them to do. But genuine art education would teach them about art. That would include understanding what a work of art is saying, so that the child could accept or reject its message. It would also teach discernment about artistic quality. That would go against the current assumption that art is simply whatever an artist does.

Many of today's artists have swallowed uncritically the bohemian myth, that the artist is superior to lesser mortals and the source of meaning and values. The best artists, though—Shakespeare, Bach, Rembrandt—had no such pretensions. They did not see themselves as creating either their art or their culture out of their own genius. Rather, they looked outside themselves to an objective realm of order and beauty created by Someone other than themselves

[muawiyah]

For pete's sake, these guys should have recognized you just can't trust John Kerry. That's why we all voted "Anybody But Kerry"!

[Drango]

"We are now reaping, in election results, the consequences of the colossal reductions in art education."

LOL. I say we cut their budget some more...

[grobdriver]

"Artists" usually live in a make-believe world.
Reality bites them on the a$$.

[odoso]

Some Freeper's tagline reads something like this "Never argue with an idiot you'll lose everytime, they've just had too much practice"

Love it!

[proxy_user]

Former water-colorist who became a political powerhouse?

'Nuff said.

[kx9088]

Absolutely. The leftist elitism and intelligensia truly believe anyone who voted for Bush is stupid. These are the people that believe socialism is utopia.

[NoClones]

It may be that the American people think these so-called 'artists' are too full of themselves to be taken seriously on serious issues!

[Moconservative]

John Kerry was a bad candidate. No artist support was going to make a difference in him winning. The "old media" could not even do it.

[paudio]

Many artists thought thru arts we can find 'the essence of life'... And they don't bother to learn about anything else.

[Terabitten]

"We are now reaping, in election results, the consequences of the colossal reductions in art education."

No, you're just reaping the results, the consequences of the "shut-up-and-sing" movement.

[sheik yerbouty]

They can tell themselves that they lost due to electile dysfunction..

[kahoutek]

Kinda like "Never wrestle with a pig in the mud; the pig likes it and you'll get dirty."

[asgardshill]

I say its time to bring back the concept of the "starving artist". Let's start with eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts and all funding and support for PBS. Then we can let the marketplace perform its magic.

(I claim dibs on sales of black berets and begging bowls in blue states).

[Condor51]

Bruce Springsteen organized his fellow rock stars into the Vote for Change tour, with John Mellencamp, the Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, R.E.M, the Dixie Chicks, James Taylor, and others staging concerts to elect Mr. Kerry. Rapper Eminem put out an anti-Bush video. P. Diddy put out "Vote or Die" T-shirts and got multitudes of rap fans to register to vote, and not for Mr. Bush

Yeah, Alan Woods is correct.
We should have taken the advice of these political mental giants. Why I'll bet that the Dixie Chicks even graduated from High School! Of course none of the rest did (IIRC) but so what, High School dropouts have brains too. Why many HS dropouts have went on to be .. ah.. hmmm... well... Rock Stars.

And so what if James Taylor was a HEROIN JUNKIE for about twenty tears, junkies can have deep meaningful thoughts - just don't let one around your children. And P. Diddy was found not guilty of that shooting, so all should be forgiven.

Yep, 'mr' Woods is right, we should have listened to these "artists".

/s

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Was there no art before government subsidies were provided ?

[finnman69]

I love reading this as a member of the design community in NYC.

[Do not dub me shapka broham]

Trust me, the NEA and NEH are employers of first resort for people who have no freakin' talent whatsoever.

I'd sooner accept the political wisdom of a cracked up bum living in the Marlboro Houses than listen to some pretentious a-hole who writes for the New Yorker.

In this case, I think that the advice of William F. Buckley would suffice.

[meema]

bttt

[gaspar]

"Serious arts establishment"???? It doesn't exist in the USA. Vulgar "avant garde" mediocrity is piled end on end, and the Blue states (especially New York and California) have seen to that.