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	Art Arrogant vs. Art Ignorant	70 dni temu
	Recently, I've been bothered by a whiff of something "bad" in the Merced community. There seems to be a sense among local arts organizers (not to be confused with local artists) that our community is Art Ignorant. This feeling has become more and more apparent since the establishment of the UC Merced "community". As our local denizens pander to their already inflated egos, I have become increasingly uncomfortable with our communal, as well as my personal, identity. During a recent phone call with an arts organizer, he used the line "We need to educate Merced about art, because most people don't know anything about it." This was the cherry on top of a crap flavored ice cream sundae, that I was not going to be force fed. So, I let him have it. Let me explain... In that same week, I had read several comments in a discussion forum for a facebook page devoted to a soon to be released magazine promoting our local downtown scene. Actually, the magazine is promoting a connection between the UC and the local downtown scene... which continues the pervasive pandering to their temporary existence in our community-- confusing. But, as my grandmother would say, I digress. All of the comments commended the magazine's founder for establishing the magazine (it hasn't come out yet). A few, however, were absolutely caustic. I became so angry that my blood pressure rose, my face turned red,... and I took an aspirin, just in case:-) The comments stated that people in Merced were in need of this magazine because, among other things, they do not know anything about art. Pardon my language, but... fuck that. During my phone call with the arts organizer I mentioned earlier, I told him that many people do not participate in our local arts events. We want to get them involved... but their lack of involvement and participation does not make them Art Ignorant. Taking that tack makes you Art Arrogant... and Art Ignorant. Many people make art that does not fit into the confines of your perception of "what is art". I have been fortunate to meet musicians, artists, poets, activists, dancers, and thinkers... people who have not, and likely will never, enter the Arts Center or attend Art Hop. They are not Art Ignorant. Quite the opposite. The arts exist in their lives as a natural element, the likes of which I envy greatly. Here is an example. A boy attends school. His parents came here from Mexico... yes, legally. His mother works seasonally in the fig orchards. His father works year-round, dawn to dusk, at a local nursery. He has dirt under his nails, and on his boots. Neither he, nor his wife, speak English. One day, during a show-and-tell, the boy brings a small accordion. It is no toy. His father is there. The boy announces that he plays the accordion, and he prepares to play. His father, who has taken time from work, moves a chair next to his son, and pulls out a guitar. The teachers and the students look and listen with open, smiling mouths, as the boy and his father play a lovely waltz. At the end, the group claps excitedly and asks for another song. Father and son oblige. A 35 year old man with a second grade education, who had cultivated the gift of music in his son, as his father cultivated the gift in him. If he has never stepped foot into the Arts Center, attended Art Hop, or local Arts Festivals, can we really say that he "needs to be educated about art?" Does his lack of participation and involvement make him Art Ignorant? Those who are guilty of being Art Arrogant would say yes. The girl who says that the local arts scene is boring and not really art... is Art Arrogant. I would imagine she is about 18 or 19. I doubt she is local. She is a student at the UC, and when her education is finished, she will no doubt leave this community. Is she even an artist herself? Art does not need to shock you to be art. Art does not need to be pretty to be art. Art does not need to be realistic, abstract, or stylized to be art. Our artists make art... Our teachers make art... I make art... and it all qualifies as art. You may like it or not like it. Take it or leave it. But, don't you dare call us Art Ignorant... you Art Arrogant sons of bitches. end rant.
	opublikowane przez Enrichment Center