“For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of a horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.”
This post is a bit different from the usual, but it’s still about the British art scene because I’m going to write today about the damage recently and needlessly inflicted on that scene by the egregious short-sightedness of whichever numpties at the Arts Council of England had the final say on cutting relatively trifling but vital sums from numerous crucial community-centred or artist-led organisations while gaily tipping ever increasing millions of obscene pounds into the gaping haute bourgeois money pits of places like the Royal Opera House. The British art scene- at the best of times exceedingly small and fragile- relies upon an even more minute core of vital people and places to do the nuts-and-bolts, pragmatic stuff that every other profession does automatically but most of the art world can’t seem to get their heads wrapped around: chief among these functions is bridging the gap between being an inexperienced, ambitious kid and a working professional with a sustainable career. Another thing these organisations do is provide safe and supportive environments for art and artists that can’t yet or simply shouldn’t ever be subjected to market forces. I know there are some people who think that everything and everyone, including art and artists, should be subjected to the full and unmitigated brunt of market forces. It’s also a commonly encountered argument that art should always be subjected to some kind of public popularity competition, community approval or public benefit yardstick. These people are just plain wrong, and with every purchase of just plain wrong I’ll add this free pack of you’re a fucking idiot. http://careersuicideblog.wordpress.com/2011/06/16/for-want-of-a-nail-in-praise-of-artsway/ _______________________________________________ NetBehaviour mailing list [email protected] http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour
