Coming at you today from the People's Republic of Cambridge...
I was thinking recently about how I am naturally suspicious of any reporting or journalism that comes from a clearly politically/socially biased point of view -- whether I agree with that p.o.v. or not. Which is all well and good, but then I got to thinking about all the news sources I look to where the bias may still be present, but it's hidden under layers of declarations about unbiased reporting. So, maybe a clearly stated bias is a step in the right direction?
Whatever. The point is, the Socialists are contemplating some of the same questions we are. I still don't know how deeply I trust the World Socialist Website, but they do some interesting arts reporting. Here's what they're saying about the economy and the arts.
- A lay-of-the-land survey of arts in crisis around the U.S. (circa Feb 2009) that also asks readers to think about what it means to be an artist in a capitalist society.
- "The Future of Art in an Age of Crisis," Part I and Part II -- it's part history lesson, part Trotsky mash note, part call for a de-commercialization of art-making. WCWS issues a call-to-arms for artists, if they are to survive the world financial breakdown. What does it mean to be beholden to big business --whether that's the large theatre, or large donors/funders -- while aiming to reflect the truth of the world? (The classic artistic conundrum, no?)
You may feel there's much to take issue with here (politically, socially, economically, what-have-you), but there are also some elemental truths scattered within. Like this:
"It’s not possible to make an artistically convincing work that ignores or fails to address seriously the most burning human questions."
And:
"The artists, in our view, must orient themselves toward investigating our reality, bringing to bear all the creativity and depth of feeling available to the human heart and mind, to represent the present human condition in its complexity and dynamism."
No doubt.
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