Brodbeck and the Arts

oh man that blog on this subject is getting crazy stupid. Seems like a tick may have dropped in too..

on a completely related note..
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/apr/13/two-florida-lawmakers-push-end-public-funding-art/

Two Florida lawmakers push to end public funding of art

Gotta love this comment:

When society loses its Cultural Arts facet, the rest of society fails.

This person and similar peeps on Brodbeck's blog are seriously deluded. Hey, I actually like art. I have many pieces in my home from Winnipeg artists. I paid for them. I think that is what all artists should aspire to: get people to pay them for their work...

You mean you wouldn't pay to see an artistic puppet show funded by the public?

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/apr/13/two-florida-lawmakers-push-end-public-funding-art/

In Florida they want to end all public arts funding until economy recovers.

Deank wrote:on a completely related note..
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/apr/13/two-florida-lawmakers-push-end-public-funding-art/

Two Florida lawmakers push to end public funding of art

Bartron wrote:http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/apr/13/two-florida-lawmakers-push-end-public-funding-art/

In Florida they want to end all public arts funding until economy recovers.

Heh heh...

lol.....ehhh never mind

grumpy old man wrote:.... I think that is what all artists should aspire to: get people to pay them for their work...

Some of these self-proclaimed 'artists' produce works that don't sell to the public at large but want the work funded by those same people through the back-door.

I do things that sell to allow me the luxury of doing things that I want to do regardless of the work's saleability.

BTW, if we rely on artists for our culture alone, we're screwed imho. Culture is about more than funding artists that can't sell their work.

If time doesn't legitimize a work (Van Gogh), perhaps it should be hung at the Brady Road Gallery then.

I don't think that there is anything wrong with any level of government supporting artists, whether it is painters, sculptures, photography, dancers, mime, everything and anything. The city makesa donation to an arts group that decides how to allocate grants to local artists , who have to apply for a grant to help them bring about their idea!
No money for artists follows along the line of no money for community centers, etc.
Harper and his crew of hard hearted cheapskates. They have plenty of grant money for companies developing the tar sands. How is artists any less deserving?

rosencrentz wrote:How is artists any less deserving?

I think it lies in the fact that society sees more worth in baseball diamonds, sandboxes and wading pools than puppet shows.

.

....and don't forget hanging rabbits eh. How's that for allocating public money?

rosencrentz wrote:Harper and his crew of hard hearted cheapskates. They have plenty of grant money for companies developing the tar sands. How is artists any less deserving?

Invent a car that runs on acrylic stripes on canvas art works....

All criticism's are based on personal likes and dislikes! Arts funding, funding for business, funding for development of everything and anything is all open to criticism. When their is a cash crunch, something gets cut back, some one decides what can be cut back.
When I was in High School, before you were born, the 1st cut back when a school was being built was the gymnasium. It was mind boggling to see a gym that had its walls 5 feet from the end of a basketball regulation size! Ran out of money?
How about the fact that Ralph Brown Community Center , that is attached to an air conditioned school, hasn't got air conditioning?
Boy I would like to know who approved that! No relief from the heat, and yet the school, a monster size compared to the 7,000 square foot community center addition is a horrible place. All they had to do was get some of the cold air from groung level circulating through a vent.

Public Works Minister Christian Paradis was caught flat-footed when a federal funding body eliminated a $325,000 grant to a major telescope and astronomy centre in his riding.
What a waste of money, for an astronomy centre! They charge admissions, let that pay for this useless toy to look at the stars.
What a useless occupation!

rosencrentz wrote:Public Works Minister Christian Paradis was caught flat-footed when a federal funding body eliminated a $325,000 grant to a major telescope and astronomy centre in his riding.
What a waste of money, for an astronomy centre! They charge admissions, let that pay for this useless toy to look at the stars.
What a useless occupation!

But then who would do the daily horoscope for the newspapers?

I thought all the papers were closing, except for the Wpg Free Press!
Very good point freeman!

I would get Brodbeck's point if he backed it up with a lot more detail of what the money was spent on. The arts is an industry that gets support like every other industry does so it all depends on how the individual grants are spent and what is accomplished with them. Are they investments to use for promotion or to help pay for gallery use or to put on shows, or was money just given and spent on snacks? Generally if you put in for any industrial government funding you specify how much you need, why you need it, and what you are spending it on to support your funding bid. I don't know a whole lot about arts funding but from what I have seen it operates in a similar fashion and is based on expected returns. If they give someone $2k to help fund a project show that brings in $10k, it's a good investment.
Saying that giving money to a project isn't a good investment because it supports 'art' related jobs rather than manufacturing jobs is IMO, pretty stupid. Saying that the money was mismanaged is totally valid, if it was mismanaged. But giving a lot of small grants to support a lot of projects seems like a pretty smart way to fund an industry. I expect the returns off of these small grants are proportionately much better than what you get from most industrial grant programs. There aren't industrial programs out there than can help 64 employees of any industry (that completely underestimates the real number of people helped through these grants because it ignores all the gallery workers, suppliers, etc) for less than a quarter million. You could easily get that much funding on a single project in other industries if you say it will bring 10 jobs to the province or even sustain 10 current jobs for longer.