Donor pulls funding from the University of Hawaii Art Department because he objected to the department chair exercising her right of free speech. I am an economist and an artist. This terrifies me almost as much as the election of the psychopath who will be our next president.
Artistic Freedom
Is something that all totalitarian states seek to trample. From the roads to freedom stitched into slave quilts to the music that supported the social justice movements throughout history, the arts provide a voice for those who have no safe place to stand and speak. Artists can bypass the rhetoric and touch a heart in ways that can change both hearts and minds.
Ken Burns and his films about the national parks may well have saved some of the best of what makes us Americans. The arts spark dialogue (from dia-across and logos-wisdom) a seeking of wisdom from across the commons. Judy Chicago’s ceramic installation “The Dinner Party” is still an iconic piece of the women’s movement and continues to inspire often heated discussion (from discutere "to dash to pieces, agitate). The Aids Quilt allowed friends and family to celebrate the lives of people demonized by so-called civil society.
Who is supporting whom?
The donor owns a gallery where he makes more off the sale of the artwork than the people who actually did the work of creating it. Galleries typically take 60-80% for commission. In economic terms if a buyer pays less for something than it costs to produce the purchaser is getting a subsidy. The artists whose work he sells may be getting paid for their costs but what justifies this man making 200% to 400% more than the person who actually did the work?
He claims to have donated about $40,000 over a several year period, my guess is that this is less than 1% of what he has made off of those he actually created the work. And remember, the donations have reduced the amount of taxes that would have gone to pay for the infrastructure he relies on to run his business including the university.
Support the Arts
The creative mind is what drives us forward to seek solutions whether seeking to ameliorate the ills of society or for more prosaic reasons-
“In my own philanthropy and business endeavors, I have seen the critical role that the arts play in stimulating creativity and in developing vital communities….the arts have a crucial impact on our economy and are an important catalyst for learning, discovery, and achievement in our country.”
–Paul G. Allen, Co-Founder, Microsoft
Please don’t allow anyone to steal your voice.