Scott Lilly at the Center for American Progress floats a timely reminder to the good folks in Congress currently bristling about the stimulus package: arts jobs are jobs, regardless of your opinion of what they produce. He quotes Rep. Jack Kingston’s (R-GA) remarks when complaining about the NEA funding (now removed) from the bill:
“We have real
people out of work right now and putting $50 million in the NEA and
pretending that’s going to save jobs as opposed to putting $50 million
in a road project is disingenuous.”
Which suggests, of course, that artists, cultural managers, stagehands, gallery staff, technicians, costume designers, and anybody else involved in artistic pursuits aren’t actually working, or earning a paycheck, or supporting their families, or any of the other productive things road workers might do. Or, to put it more bluntly, arts workers are not ”real people.”
It’s perfectly fair to challenge the ”stimulus potential” of any line item in the massive bill. And there are legitimate arguments to be made that one form of spending or incentive works more quickly, more effectively, more efficiently than another. But this particular line of attack, suggesting that the arts don’t involve people doing jobs, is staggering in its ignorance.
Before we go railing off on conservative politicians, however, we might look for the same bias and blindness among ourselves. I was at a conference panel recently, for example, in which an architect from a well-respected firm with extensive cultural facility projects to their credit made an astounding admission: up until their most recent project, that involved direct discussion with a wide range of practitioners, they hadn’t thought of a cultural facility as a workplace. A performance/display space, an audience chamber, and a public venue, to be sure. Even an administrative office tucked away in the back. But the entire building as a daily workplace for professionals and tradespeople? A novel idea.
Perhaps that explains why so many cultural facilities have spaces that can’t be cleaned, lightbulbs that can’t be changed without massive machinery, and offices and common spaces that cramp and confound the folks who come to work there every day.
Somewhere between our lofty rhetoric about the power of the arts, and our mechanical arguments about social and civic benefits, there seems to be a disconnect in our message. The arts are people. They don’t just serve people or help people, they are people. It’s astounding that anyone would understand otherwise.
[ Thanks George, for the link. ]
Though I’m somewhat sympathetic to the idea that bolstering health and human services agency during these dangerous times is more essential than bolstering the arts, it’s totally ridiculous to believe that an unemployed artist or arts administrator is somehow *less* unemployed than an unemployed bricklayer or welder – as if it costs nothing to cover unemployment benefits for a laid off arts administrator. We all go to the same unemployment line!
Great post! Thanks for articulating this so well! Thoughtful and well written as always. It is time for us to stand up for ourselves and let people know that “the arts are people.”
Well said. As the daughter of two orchestra musicians, I am used to questions about how my parents “make money”. I wonder how many people believe that all arts professionals are volunteers or merely practicing a hobby. Whatever happens on the jobs and recovery bill, we have real work in front of us to build understanding and public will.
My local commentary on this point from last week:
Is Arts a Job?
This also speaks to the failure of most elected and civic leaders to realize that non-profit organizations are small businesses (merely operating with a different corporate framework and motive).
Whether culture, social services, or health care driven, the hundreds of non-profits in your community are employers, purchasers, vendors, and a very real part of the economic equation. They provide what the government and the profit-model often cannot.
How easy it is for Congress to dismiss arts and culture in talking about stimulus, shutting that small business engine out of the mix. Perhaps the problem is the association with the NEA, which has little in its arsenal to cultivate corporate aspects and small business development. The NEA, with its past culture war stigmata and programmatic focus on content, audience, education and delivery, might not be the place to situate an arts sector stimulus basket. A whole new deal, anyone?
The correct idea that artists are workers seems to have been confused with the question of what art is valuable. The artists I know are not receiving funding from the NEA and are sole proprietors getting no unemployment insurance. We do what we have to do to survive. It just has gotten a lot harder in the past year to find self support work. My mentor taught that art can only survive if it is done for love not money. Passion is the fuel that fires art.
I sent letters to my Senators with the exact same message!
On a related note, in this morning’s Green Bay newspaper, a sports writer commented, “The Green Bay Packers aren’t a charitable operation…they have an obligation to act in a businesslike manner to ensure the future of the franchise.” Well, of course that’s EXACTLY what the Packers are — a 501(c)(3) corporation, even though that status is often mischaracterized as “The Packers are owned by the city.” To me, this is related because of the misconceptions that people have about not-for-profits. We’re not “real” businesses, we care more about giving things away than being “businesslike,” we’re just not-for-profit because we couldn’t survive in the marketplace. Reminds me of when Newt Gingrich famously called out cultural organizations in the 90s, saying that we should stop propping up the arts with the NEA, let ’em survive or fail in the marketplace…like Sesame Street.
For a different take on this issue, please see a column that appeared in the Chicago Tribune’s “Theatre Loop” blog yesterday, making the argument that all of us in the arts have failed in making our case for support. 75 years ago, the employment of artists was the first element in the Federal Works Project Administration…now we are getting specifically written out of bills. We have a lot to answer for….C
It’s an age-old attitude. No matter what we do or how hard we try to get people to understand, that kind of misconception continues to thrive. Even our own board members share a little of this belief at times.
Your comments about how new or rehabbed buildings are designed and built with little or no consideration as to how they would be operated resonated with me 1000%. I worked at a venue built from scratch with an entire glass front. When I asked how we were supposed to keep it clean, I got blank stares.
No the arts couldn’t possibly be a real job. I’m sent advertisements every day for curatorial assistant-ships at the Met, etc., and the “pay” is about $25,000. a year—with an M.A.???
Obviously, this must be a hobby with benefits. I would sooner work for McDonalds or Wal-Mart. At least they understand the importance of language fluency and the fact that you can’t expect someone to move to NY and get paid below the national poverty level. So no, these aren’t like REAL jobs.
Art is a business. I recently finished a 7′ sculpture commission. This one work of art stimulated over $850,000.00, not including artist fees, in jobs for architects, enginers, city workers, contractors, construction workers, brick layers, printers, and foundry workers, again not including my artist fee.
How many people this employed for one year, my guess would be over 50 people which were kept employed. Not bad for a stimulus program from buying one work of art. This stimulus allowed people to pay basic bills, rent, clothes, food, cars, etc…
So art is not frivolus it is part of our economy.
I have seen teenagers completely make a turn-around when exposed to art. Not only have they learned to do something they never thought they could do, they learned to accept each other (the “geeks” and the “cool kids”). They are taught to respect property, and people. Many of these kids are doing community work for nothing but the feel goodness of it all. I have seen these kids work hard and get a sense of pride and accomplishment.
It may seem so simple, but many of these kids were heading down a scary path and are too busy making art and being exposed to amazing teachers and volunteers who care about them as no one else in their lives had. Many of the parents have become more involved in their kids lives, not knowing how to relate to them until they saw the work these kids were capable of.
It is an honor to work with the arts and all of the HARD WORKING artists that give to these young people.
Art counts!!! How can anyone think it is a waste of time and money when it gives so much joy to so many. We could use ANY amount of joy in this world we live in.
It is good to start them young and keep them involved in some type of art throughout their lives. Those that think the arts are a waste of time have never seen how it can change lives for both young and old! Try it sometime.
Namaste’
I realize now of course that we should have been selling subscriptions on credit then bundling those loans and selling them as securitized investments to banks and hedge funds. We could have charged exorbitant up front cash fees for processing, sold all kinds of packages to people with sketchy credit and paid ourselves inflated salaries and hefty bonuses. It wouldn’t have mattered if the subscribers were solvent because we’d have sold off our risk to other financial institutions. Demand would have been huge so buyers would have assumed they could re-sell their seats if necessary, the houses would have been packed so we’d have appeared hugely successful, the audiences would have been thrilled at getting something they wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford, senior staff would’ve been rolling in dough and there’d have been no end to our collective prosperity.
Maybe if we’d done that our elected officials would be falling all over themselves trying to keep us in our cushy jobs.
I went to Congressman Kingston’s website. I’m quoting below from the site. Note how it uses the arts (film, literature, etc.) to create the District’s identity, calling it at one point, “a literary haven.”
And note as well that not a single private business (the only kind that it appears the Congressman is deserving of support in the stimulus package) is considered important enough to be mentioned. The only “real” employers are military bases, a Federal training center and (apparently) a SWAMP.
Clearly the artists and other arts professionals in GA-1 need to do a better job of educating their legislator. Or maybe just to explain to him that artists and arts professionals are also (see the end of the description) “warm-hearted people espousing old-fashioned family values.”
DESCRIPTION from http://kingston.house.gov:
“Georgia’s First Congressional District is comprised of 25 counties in south Georgia. It’s a large District extending from south of Savannah to the Florida border, west to Adel and north to Alamo.
The First District has:
*Georgia’s coastline, including the Golden Isles of St. Simons Island (home of historic Fort Frederica National Monument), Jekyll Island State Park, and Sea Island (home of the “5-star” resort hotel The Cloister), also Cumberland Island National Seashore and many miles of beautiful marshes. Sidney Lanier’s famous poem “The Marshes of Glynn” was written about the marshes around coastal Glynn County.
* Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base, at Kings Bay in Camden County, Fort Stewart, near Hinesville in Liberty County, Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, and Moody Air Force Base near Valdosta.
* FLETC, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, at Glynco (outside Brunswick) is the training facility for more than 70 federal law enforcement agencies including the Capitol police force, Secret Service, White House police and DEA.
* The Okefenokee Swamp, the largest swamp in North America and one of America’s most fascinating natural areas.
Here’s some additional information about our District:
* The First District is a literary haven. Best selling authors William Diehl (Sharkey’s Machine, which became a Burt Reynolds film, “27”, Primal Fear and its sequel, Show of Evil, made into a film starring Richard Gere)
* George Dawes Green (Edgar Award winner for his top mystery The Caveman’s Valentine, and best-seller The Juror, which was made into a film starring Demi Moore.
* Tina McElroy Ansa (best-selling black author of A Baby in the Family and Ugly Ways) all call St. Simons Island their home. In what is probably unprecedented for what can be considered a small town, Diehl, Price, and Green all had best selling books at the same time (summer of 1995).
* The First District has also a been a background for top films including Academy Award Winning Best Picture Forrest Gump, filmed in and around Savannah. Other movies that filmed in various areas of the District include Glory (Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington), Camilla (Jessica Tandy, Bridget Fonda), and Gator (Burt Reynolds) which was filmed at Banks Lake in Lanier County as well as in Savannah.
Summary:
From Georgia pines and massive oaks with hanging Spanish moss, to the marshes, river inlets and ocean, the First District has an abundance of natural beauty. The First District is rich with historic sites, cozy rural communities and farms, and the southern hospitality of warm-hearted people espousing old-fashioned family values.”
I think it is unfortunate that some people do not see jobs in the Arts industry as “legitimate” jobs. However, there isn’t really anything we can do to change everyone’s perception of Arts workers right away. It is going to be a gradual change. Most importantly, we can’t get bogged down being bitter about current attitudes. If we do that we risk sinking ourselves into a pit of self-pity and losing the fighting spirit we need in order to take on the challenge of changing the public’s perception of the Arts. So let’s keep our chins up an work on creating change!
I think it is regrettable that Charles’ mentor believed that passion for your art and payment for it are mutually exclusive. I think we ought to be instilling artists with the idea that they ought to be able to be paid for the work they do with their unique gifts and skill sets– just like other occupations.
Here is the letter I sent yesterday to my state legislators. They, in their infinite wisdom, are contriving that federal stimulus money which comes to the state should not be used to fund anything that has to do with casinos, parks, the arts, swimming pools and a few more-an interesting list to be sure, and so short sighted.
Hi,
I feel I must weigh in, and I probably ought to have sooner, regarding the Governor’s budget plan as it relates to funding for the arts and the State Arts Board. Eliminating the Arts Board and funding for the arts is a bad idea.
All too often ‘the arts’ are talked about as if they are some elitist, high-brow experience that has little relevance to the majority of regular folks. In fact, state funding for the arts is just the opposite. This funding and the programs the Minnesota State Arts Board makes possible trickle down in ways that are difficult to see, but the economic multiplier effect should not be overlooked or dismissed.
Admittedly, I am an arts advocate (and I’ll see you on the 24th), but let me tell you a little about what I see every day. I work at Springboard for the Arts- a small non-profit (there are five of us) whose sole purpose is to provide skills, training and resources for SMALL BUSINESSES- businesses with 1-5 people working there. If we really want to support small business we must recognize that arts funding is just that- working capital for small businesses.
Easily 80% of the people I meet with one-on-one or in classroom settings are people who have been downsized out of their corporate or manufacturing jobs and have decided to strike out on their own. These people are the creative capital- innovative problem solvers with the capacity to create new ideas, products and strategies for the future. I will grant that some are better than that than others, however that is not unique to this category of small businessmen and -women.
Cutting or, God forbid, eliminating funding for the arts in Minnesota is not in the best interest of Minnesotans. The money you spend here will be recirculated throughout this economy many times over. Artists who receive grants don’t squirrel it away in an investment account- they spend it. They buy things- things that other people make. They hire people; they pay to rent spaces and equipment.
Thank you for ear,
Kathleen Richert
PS: In addition to my work at Springboard, I run an artistic small business that sometimes employs as many as eight other folks. Before the cuts in 2003 I was able to do this full-time, thus employing eight people and freeing up my position at Springboard for someone else. Please don’t repeat the short sighted actions of 2003 regarding funding for the arts and culture.
It seems to me that politicians (as usual) are more worried about showing their voters some visual representation of progress rather than the real thing. Its easy to point at a road and declare, “This is progress.” How does one measure the impact and importance of the arts in society?
I think we would be hard pressed to find a politician that would directly answer a question asking whether an arts job was as important as say a street worker. But until politicians stop worrying about being reelected and more about the quality of life in their communities, we can expect the intangible experience to take a backseat to the cries for “progress.”
How do I put this?
One of the biggest problems that I see with the current hubbub regarding potential Arts funding in the current stimulus plans is that there is no distinction made between artists and arts organizations. We’ve had enough trickle down economics. Any funding directed towards the arts should go directly to artists themselves and not to the current crop of cultural managers who have done so much to damage the view of Art and artists here in the US.
JVK
Perhaps the way to get the Congress’ attention would be to drape the Lincoln Memorial sculpture in black crape next Monday. If Art is useless then why see it. Oh that’s right, that would be a crime.
I would love to see a photographer (or many photographers) do a project where they round up all of the employees who earn their living in an arts organization – museums, theaters, galleries, recital halls, you name it – and take a photo of them at their institutions. Maybe seeing the dozens or hundreds of “real people” who work (and work very hard) at cultural institutions could put a human face to this issue and help to send the message out.
Not only am I taken back by the comment from Kingston, I am insulted and very annoyed. To disregard a profession in the arts is ignorant. It is sad to think of all the people who share this same thought as Kingston.
I think that this is quite a large problem particularly in politics or any field that isn’t overly artistic or dealing with artists on a daily basis. People who either aren’t really involved in the arts or only participate in it for their regular dose of ‘culture’ don’t understand that it’s anything but extracurricluar. They see it as a fun and relaxing time so it never occurs to them how much effort it takes to run a place like this or all of the jobs required to do it. I also think it’s an excellent point regarding the architect and why some arts buildings are so nutty; nobody considers it to be a regular place of business except for the people who work there everyday.
Wow, I never knew that there were people that didn’t consider careers in the arts to be “real”. I don’t understand why they think they should be–even if an organization is a non-profit, it still has to run like a business, and at the end of the day, both for-profits and non-profits have a product that they want consumers to consume.
I also think that the general public is misunderstood about non-profits, a lot of my friends think that non-profits don’t even break even every year. I think if the people understood what non-profits do a lot of these problems could be resolved.