Friday, November 23, 2007

Sheep Don't Look Up

This is what the Georgia Straight printed:

Letters
Only the naive don't see art as a business
Publish Date: November 22, 2007

Re: Arts Notes [Nov. 15-22]

Treat art like a business? Excuse me, but this is what young artists are being trained to do as part and parcel of being an artist.

Whereas becoming an artist a few years ago meant learning history, technique, and mediums, it now means networking, competition, business proposals, and commodification. Artists have been bought off by the Canada Council and other arts councils for so long they no longer have any integrity as a community.

> Lenore Herb / Vancouver

This is what I sent last week:

only naive etc.

Last week you printed the first and last statements in my letter and left out the points I made to substantiate my almost outrageous claims.

1. that the peer group system of the CC is flawed and
2. artists in Vancouver have been bought out by millions of dollars in Olympic money which will keep them silent when it comes to eco/social issues.

This is what I originally wrote:

Re: Arts ire for canadian taxpayers federation

Treat art like a business?, excuse me, but this is what young artists are being trained to do as part and parcel of being an artist. To think the right wing isn't going to use this in it's fight to destroy free will or the depiction of free will is delusional. Whereas becoming an artist a few years ago meant learning history, technique and mediums, it now means networking, competition, business proposals and tragically commodification. It exists as an institution now, there are few, if any, real alternative galleries, people get shows through who they know and who they are connected to, it's all about 'networking' with your friends. The so called 'peer' process is in reality a highly networked group using the Canada Council, which is part of the institution of art 'business'. Use your logic, a small group of 'artists' in charge of distributing hundreds of thousands of dollars, is going to sit there and give up all their personal prejudices, opinions and connected friends to make a fair decision? I don't think so, they would have be bordering on sainthood to do that, which does not describe the majority of people in the arts. Artists have been bought off by the Canada Council for so long they no longer have any integrity as a community, they have sold out to the Olympics and every other source of government or business funding that requires them to be eco/socially silent.