In the article titled, “Some Thoughts About Art, America, and Jumping Off the Cliff” by Meredith Monk, she discusses the meaning of the arts in different cultures, as well as how its roles have changed. Her purpose is to discuss the importance of the arts in society. She expresses that she feels the arts have become more of a commodity in modern culture, rather than part of an average person’s way of life. Monk then begins to compare the United States to the rest of the world in terms of involvement in the arts, stating she is “always struck” when she comes back to America by the “marginal concern” for the arts. She speculates that the reason one might have for not pursuing the arts is that they are afraid to follow what they’d like to follow instead of the guidelines that society lays out. Then she moves into a call to action against cutting the NEA, stating: “To abolish the NEA would be an act of utter ignorance and destruction,” and finally reiterates the roles and importance of arts in society. The text was written in 1990, during a discussion about the funding of the NEA (National Endowment for the Arts). Overall, her argument is weakened by language that separates her from her audience. In paragraph 5, Monk discusses possibilities as to why people may or may not be open to the arts. She discusses her experiences with music, how she connects to each piece, and how she keeps every playthrough fresh. Then, she attempts to broaden these statements to relate them to an
The National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965 states that it is up to the Federal Government to assist the local, state, regional and private agencies and artist in developing arts in the communities in several different ways. It also states that the Federal Government is to encourage freedom of thought, imagination, and inquiry but also the material conditions facilitating the release of this creative talent. Lastly, the Act states that it is to fulfill an educational mission and make widely available the greatest achievements of art “National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965”).
Dana Gioia does a great job building her argument by really making the reader think about what she’s saying. Gioia starts off with describing a “2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts,” which claims that “arts participation by Americans has declined… The declines have been most severe among younger adults.” Most people reading this will think “ok, so?”, but in the back of their mind they know they’re a part of the problem. The reader will start to feel guilt and shame, but they won’t know it yet, right now it’s just a measly seed.
In “the Cult of the Best”, Bourne criticizes the acquisitive nature in American education and culture. Bourne argued that such habit of acquisition has led Americans to understand artistic appreciation merely as “the acquiring of a familiarity with ‘good works of art’ and with the historical fields of the different arts, rather than as the cultivating of spontaneous taste” (193). Influenced by this shallow and inaccurate understanding, American art education almost solely emphasized on what is “good”, the
American art, and its countless mediums, evolved equally with the capitalist country. This is a visual medium and a form of self-expression, where an artists is free to turn a canvas into anything he or she would like. They are not bound by grammar, words or other aspects of written communication and could freely As the old saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words”; and in America, their work served as mirrors of the social and political climate. The many painters, architects, and photographers themselves could be considered the archivists that shaped the “all-American” identity.
How would you feel if one of your favorite subjects was cut from school? You would feel disappointed or sad right? That is how I would feel if fine arts programs were cut from my school. For me, the arts are an outlet of my soul where I can explore my passion, and express my creativity. There are some school officials that say cutting arts funding would save money that could go towards better funding, but some neuroscientists say cutting arts funding might be a bad idea, since the arts have some very important benefits such as, improved motor skills and better language development. Also with cut funding, we would have more unemployed workers since all the teachers who taught those programs would be laid off and would lose their jobs. There are many disadvantages and advantages of cutting the arts, but I believe fine arts programs should not be cut from schools.
The monk is not happy with his title or spiritually satisfied by becoming one (Voltaire 146). Basically he is saying that he is just a man who is preaching words that he don’t understand the meaning behind (Voltaire
State and federal governments wrestle with the many questions that come with the funding of public art. People wonder whether or not government has a legitimate role in the arts and if they do, whether or not the arts should be given funds when so many other needs are present in our society. I believe that art provides many benefits and that if policymakers would begin to understand these benefits that the arts have on government and citizens, then they would find a way to support the arts even through difficult financial situations. “Arts and culture are consistent sources of economic growth, during both good and difficult economic times. Specifically, arts and culture policies and programs increase economic development in states by attracting
“Art is a nation's most precious heritage. For it is in our works of art that we reveal to ourselves, and to others, the inner vision which guides us as a Nation. And where there is no vision, the people perish,” (Johnson). President Johnson’s speech before signing the Arts and Humanities Bill, which began the National Endowment for the Arts (“Lyndon B.”), was inspiring to artists in all merits. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is a federal program that provides grants to art programs, ranging from dance to music to visual art (“About the NEA”). Numerous Americans believe federal funding to the arts is not important, while countless organizations depend on the grants given. Individuals against the NEA believe that the benefits of the
All living things relate to one another through fear. As humans, we are surrounded by things that cause our hearts to race and our palms to sweat. In fact, the most viewed movies and televisions series are those that cause such reactions. One could say we thrive on fear. When we watched The End of America in class, my eyes were opened to the corruption of our government. I knew that our nation had its problems but I never realized how deep they ran. The more I saw in the documentary the more flaws I saw in the “perfect façade” concocted by our government. The one thing that seemed most prominent to me was the manipulation of peoples’ fears. That made me wonder that if our fears are being manipulated, how far has our government gone with its
"The NEA was established to nurture American creativity, to elevate the nation's culture and to sustain and preserve the country's many artistic traditions" (NEA History, 1). The American culture is the customs, the music, even the food we eat; it's our beloved traditions we cherish and share with other diverse cultures through art. In fourth grade, my art class had a painting project for the Houston Rodeo at a museum to represent our love for Texas. My painting was a blonde girl with an orange hat and a blue shirt to stand out in front of a dirt field surrounded by a fence on a sunny day, which got me into the finals and win the competition. I felt so warm and energetic receiving firm handshakes and smiles from adults, I wanted the feeling to last forever, that's when I knew I want to do art for the rest of my life. Art is important for our society, because it's what brings us hope and connections with other people through visual arts, dance, music, literature, theater and much
A majority of the nation, up until recent visual and performance art legislation was proposed in congress, hadn't been made aware that they, the taxpayers, were supporting any form of art. It wasn't until the recent attacks on the NEA, an agency designed to fund grants to certain projects, that taxpayers paid attention. The government's funding of the arts is a highly controversial issue that argues some of the most basic philosophical questions regarding the subjective and objective views of aesthetic value.
Throughout history there have been many public funding’s that contributed to the world of art. Whether anyone realizes it or not, artists have a lot of responsibilities to try and please the public when they are working for the public. Also, there are numerous regional issues that greatly influence decisions about publicly funded art. Art is very important when forming a sense of nation character, therefore, we should support the public funding of art in America. Art is an important part of society and it can also be a very valuable part of our everyday lives. However, there are many positive and negative effects when it comes to the public funding of art in America. Supporters claim that subsidizing the arts pays for itself. These supporters suggest that the arts are what drive the economy of businesses within a community.
Originally, I planned to write a more theoretical approach to my Monk essay, that dealt with the myths that encompassed his whole life which both hindered and promoted his music. I had written the outline and the general thesis and conclusion and was left with a fill in the gap essay. However, since the audience changed, Dr. Robinson to a communal function, I decided that my original approach would be a difficult essay to interpret and deconstruct without any prior knowledge of Thelonious. With that said this is the reasoning for my essay in its present state as a way to help everyone who is not familiar with Monk and his compositions to better understand his way of life, circumstances, compositions, and the lasting effects he had on people.
Meredith Monk is an American composer, performer, director, vocalist, filmmaker and choreographer. Monk was born on November 20th, 1942 in New York, NY. She was exposed to music and dance at an early age simply because on both sides of her family there were musical people. Later, her mother enrolled her in Dalcroze Eurhythmics classes which are courses that taught movement through music. These courses heavily impacted Monk because since then she has always thought of those two concepts as one unified subject. She is identified as one of the most distinctive and influential artists. in addition, she was one of the first enterprises of extended vocal techniques (an advanced way of utilizing singing to create precise sounds that are unusual to singing domains). Likewise, Meredith also, was one of the first enterprises of Interdisciplinary performance, which are performances that are combined with at least one other regulation in a way that affects them respectively and forms a compound. Furthermore, Monk assembled her reputation by the stretching of her voice, enthusiasm, raps (speaking in a harsh sounding voice), and primitive wordless yowls. Her musical background and reputation gives her
During the early twentieth century, art education was seen as unproductive and more often not cost effective. However, in the 1950’s opinions about art education made a drastic change as Americans craved more self-expression. Art education began to flourish as the importance of art involvement became known (DeHoyas).