Saturday, March 23, 2013
The Arts' College of Cardinals Equivalent
Barry's Blog: So that got me thinking about our next Chair of the NEA, as we wait for the President to put forth a name for Senate confirmation. Obviously, this particular political appointment is not high on the priority list. They will get to it when they get to it. And the name ultimately put forth will likely not be the result of any organized, systemic search or vetting process. That’s not how it works. Someone in the administration will ask someone else if they have any ideas and a name will somehow emerge. It may well be a political process. Not, however, likely to be transparent in any sense. To be fair, this process has yielded us some very good Chairmen, even if they were not from the field itself. But perhaps we are squandering a great media opportunity - a chance to call attention to not just the agency but the role of art itself in our society.
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It would be great if people in the arts community had input on the NEA chair, but like Barry suggests, it's never gonna happen. Choosing an NEA chair is an exercise in non-confrontation. The idea is to pick someone so innocuous, so totally uncontroversial that no one in the opposition can use the appointment effectively as a political weapon. Paula Vogel will never be the NEA chair. The chairmanship is not so much about the arts as it is about not offending anyone. As much as I'd like to see arts professionals have input on the appointment, I don't see how that tactic could possibly be politically expedient, which is the point. And when it comes down to it, how could it possibly matter to anyone? Even us? The thing about being Catholic is you HAVE to care about the pope. No one has to care about the NEA chairperson. And in reality, why should we? The NEA budget last year was 146 million out of a total federal budget of $3.7 trillion. Yes, nerds, that's .0003% of the federal budget over which this lucky individual holds sway. That's the real problem, if you ask me. So until there's real power in the position, like a direct phone line to God, for instance, I don't see anyone pitching a tent on the White House lawn waiting for the theatrical fog signal to announce the selection of a new chair.
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