Friday, February 18, 2005
Music & Politics
Among the many refreshing things about The Gates, Christo and Jeanne-Claude's spectacular February gift to New York City is its inclusiveness. In a society so fraught with political tensions that even Clint Eastwood movies create controversy, it is a cheerfully apolitical event that makes most people smile even if they think the whole idea of draping 23 miles of Central Park in saffron schmate is kind of nutty. By raising the money to stage the event themselves, donating the proceeds from the sale of any authorized books, T-shirts and so on to a Central Park nature fund, refusing to accept corporate sponsorships or advertising money, and steadfastly declining to create an agenda by explaining what it "means," the artists have removed the project from the unpleasant realities of modern life. Laura Bush loved it; Abbie Hoffman would have loved it.
Which brings us to a topic. (By the way, CF bloggers, don't wait for me to ask a question. Write whatever is on your mind when the spirit moves you.) Do art and politics mix and, if so, what are the consequences. John Adams provides a useful cautionary tale in the saga of Klinghoffer which has clearly suffered somewhat because of its evenhanded treatment of the Israeli-Palestinian issue. The meta-issue, of course, is should we care that Wagner had political ideas we might find abhorrent or should we shut up and listen to the music?
posted by Jerry Bowles
11:44 AM
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