Starving artists: End the NEA

Union Leader ^ | 3/31/17 | Editorial board

[198ml]

Hahahahaaaaa. Yes.

[reformedliberal]

True.

I sat on my state Arts Board for 5 years or so in the 1980s. The big grants went to the hobbies and charities of the wives of the elite: museums, opera, ballet, prestigious dance studio troupes, little theaters. They received tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars each, even though they have endowments and charge fees and admissions. Most are *non-profits* with highly paid administrators. The size of the grants to individuals was $3k-$5k. Artists saw it as money for their supplies and a bit towards time off from a paying job in order to complete something. Maybe 5-6 individuals got funding per year. Perhaps 1% of the total available.

The Percent For Art program was administered separately and funded the big sculptures seen outside new public buildings from a set percentage of the cost of the building.

I was the only working artist during my tenure. Everyone else was an elite, either a political wife or a representative of the large organizations seeking grants. I questioned the distribution and the recorder was turned off, I got a glare from the Chair and was told:”It’s legal!” I was also not allowed to request reimbursement for mileage, even though I came from 100 miles away and the meetings took time away from my own work.

While exhibitions are routinely funded and may include objectionable pieces, that isn’t what individuals apply for. They present a portfolio or a prospectus, a short personal statement, a chapter of a book or a scene of a proposed play. Dance and music applicants present a short (minutes) recording or video. We had a month or so to review the applications beforehand, the work was put to a vote, which was a show of hands. Anyone could ask to cut off the presentations at any time and 3 requests to end the presentation was equal to a call for a vote. Most submissions were mundane and trite. The grant did not include any assurance of exhibition, publication or performance.

At that period of time, the entire State of Wisconsin Endowment was $3M/year. I told other artists it would be more profitable and more assured to just get a part-time job for six months and use that money to fund their project.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***Why do Artists have to have special welfare ?***

Back in the 1930s commercial artists could find plenty of jobs painting covers for pulp magazines. When FDR started the New Deal, one of the stipulations for the arts was no one drawing government funds could have a REAL artist’s job. All their support had to come from the government.