12 Comments

That was good idea to make aware of the thinks happening around and make them understand the needs of protecting them... Art is one among them and It is invaluable assert ... we must save it ...
Jamesh
2010-09-10 15:19:23

money ruins art, keep the two apart.
Miles Newlyn
2010-09-10 16:21:01

What other areas could we cut from (that haven't already had plans to cut) if not the arts? It's a difficult position we're all in and unfortunately cuts do have to come from somewhere, this video offers no solution to this...

Open to any suggestions :)
Laura
2010-09-12 11:04:50

Originally posted at http://savethearts.org.uk
Reposted at: http://witackman.wordpress.com/2010/09/11/save-the-arts/

1) Why does the video insist that cuts (in one area or another) are necessary? There’s no sense in which they are necessary, and adding “our” voice to the “cuts consensus” is hardly a positive move.

2) The argument that art allows us to “see ourselves differently” and offers an alternative to “reality-TV culture” is both implicitly elitist and completely out of touch with modern art.

3) The arts are defended in terms of their economic value; they are also touted as one of the “greatest success stories”. The fact that economic value is today the only criteria for a defence of the arts demonstrates the plain fact that the recent history of the arts in Britain is a story of failure, and the general trajectory of the arts in Britain is toward commercialisation and away from any relevance to the everyday lives of people.

4) A “rally around the flag” united front is not the answer, nor could it be, whilst these genuine difficulties (namely, the total exclusion of “the public” from art, and of art from everyday life) continue to exist. (Moreover, the “tactical” methods of “playing off the prejudices of the public” which this video demonstrates are transparently condescending and, in fact, insulting.)

5) Nor will continued collusion with the State and with State institutions provide a solution to these problems. Nor will continued collusion with the cultural establishment: magazines, journals, newspapers, galleries, universities. If these are the only places for “art”, and where “art” matters (which they currently are) then art cannot expect to engage anyone. The institutionalisation, bureaucratisation and commercialisation of art has alienated everyone from art; “art” has become alienating. (To be clear, I am not referring in some trite way to certain forms, or styles, or to a need for a return to the “moral” or to “commitment”. I am referring to the effective processes of its production, distribution and reception.)

6) A campaign that seeks to treat art as a separate realm, and which fails to address the link between ConDem funding threats to the Arts and ConDem (and broader neo-liberal) threats to other sectors, will fail. And so it should: if those involved in the arts cannot bring themselves to make this crucial linkage, they deserve the “philistine” observation of their complete irrelevance.

7) A genuine wish to “save” the arts necessitates a far broader critique of society and of capitalism, as well as a critique of the arts themselves.

8) Art is in crisis.
Wit
2010-09-12 16:39:50

As a freelance cartoonist, I find it ironic that the Arts Council chooses to use cartoon imagery for it's campaign, whilst steadfastly refusing to support cartooning in this country. See more at Bloghorn here: http://tinyurl.com/artsaboutface
Alex Hughes
2010-09-13 10:36:06

@ Wit,

You seem to be much more well informed than me, so I'll just raise one point:

In points 2,3,4 and 5 you seem to be addressing the arts purely in terms of visual arts or the fine arts. You're forgetting dance, music, theatre, cinema etc. These areas are often more closely associated with 'the everyday lives of people' than 'gallery' art, and are instrumental in many youth oriented and rehabilitation projects across the country. These areas survive on grants and government schemes as they don't have any of the 'elitist' (and loaded) benefactors that are common to the fine art world, and I'd expect them to suffer more under the cuts as a result.

Art may be in crisis, but The Arts are alive and well. It's probably best to do everything to try and keep them that way.
Ed
2010-09-13 15:45:01

Good old banks ay
Graphic Design Manchester
2010-09-13 16:48:47

its a great little animation, and with good humour and a good point to make. Lets hope the people its aimed at take note of its message.
designer
2010-09-14 10:42:42

Its a good concept, but to makes such a serious topic comical is not very helpful, should have taken a more serious approach, if it was to be taken seriously.
Jitesh
2010-09-14 15:14:50

What a fantastic animation! I totally disagree with the previous comment about it not being helpful to treat a serious topic in a comical way. As isn't art about being inventive? About making people think - while also entertaining and informing them? This put a smile on my face for the first time today - and such is the power of ART!
Sue Everett
2010-09-14 16:06:55

Its a good concept, but to makes such a serious topic comical is not very helpful, should have taken a more serious approach, if it was to be taken seriously.
Jitesh
2010-09-14 16:19:30

@Ed

A good point, but I'm not convinced. You say "many"; I don't see many - I see marginal and underfunded and under-regarded projects. And what sort of projects are these? I'm suspicious of "educational" theatre, dance, performance. I'm suspicious of anything "youth orientated" (what does it mean to be orientated toward youth? Who is orientating what toward whom? (This is not to say that they have no value; but to ask What value? Whose value?, etc.)

I think my general point about our alienation from art (including, but perhaps not especially, the alientation of the young from art) still stands. And I think a large part of this is the problem of art's (and/or The Arts') complicity with neoliberalism and its diverse public and private institutions. I don't see the problem as being that of this or that sector or tendency within the arts, but the problem of how culture as a whole has been made to fuction in contemporary capitalist society, and of how the arts (at every scale, from individual up to national institution) have been complicit in forming and consolidating this function. It'd certainly take a while to tease these last two points out, though, and my understanding of the situation is nowhere near complete.

I don't agree that the arts are alive and well; I do agree that we should work to make them alive and well, and that cuts will only compound art's existing problems. It is clear that there is no logical basis to ConDem cuts to the arts. In fact, we should question the logic of cuts per se. Is austerity the solution to our problems? I've heard an economist (who is extremely well regarded internationally) describe austerity as "prehistoric" and utterly moronic. There are many alternatives to austerity, but none of them have been allowed access to the table; all discussion has proceded on the a priori assumption that cuts are necessary. This too is ideological, rather than logical; but it has also been well disseminated (not least by the media, including the supposedly neutral BBC; by the "one line" election campaigns of all parties; and even by supposedly "left" or "left-leaning" campaigns such as this one) and it is now parroted by every mouth...

No austerity!

Thanks, all best,
Wit
Wit
2010-09-15 15:33:00

Tell us what you think

Your comment: What happens with my feedback?

What happens with my feedback?

We no longer require you to register and have a password in order to comment, simply fill in the form below. All comments are moderated so you may experience a short delay before your comment appears. CR encourages comments to be short and to the point. As a general rule, they should not run longer than the original post. Comments should show a courteous regard for the presence of other voices in the discussion. We reserve the right to edit or delete comments that do not adhere to this standard.

Name: (required)

Title:

e-Mail: (required)

URL