Spielberg Stumps For Arts Funding At Liberty Medal Ceremony
As you may have known, Steven Spielberg is the 2009 Liberty Medal Recipient, and was awarded his medal by none other than President (and previous Liberty Medal recipient) Bill Clinton last Thursday. Both men hugged Whoopie Goldberg. Both men also probably wondered who exactly Michael Nutter was. (No worries, guys, we’re still trying to figure that out, too. HIYO!) But the most interesting part of the night — the entire ceremony was broadcast on WPVI last night — was how Speilberg acceptance speech was itself a kind of political action. Regarding his award as a “challenge” — and getting in an early dig on Fox News — Spielberg used his acceptance speech as a kind of bully pulpit on behalf of arts funding:
[...] The commercial success of some of my films have made it possible for me to create foundations, build organizations, to try to have an effect on the world. But I’ve never believed that all art must prove itself in the marketplace; or that the marketplace is a congenial environment for all artists. Poetry, theater, serious fiction, symphony orchestras, dance companies and museums require the material support of the society to which they make a vital contribution, or they won’t exist. There are experimental filmmakers, there’s challenging programming for television that isn’t to the taste of mass audiences but which expands the vocabularies of all artists and in doing so, our cultural horizons. And, of course, there is the critical need to create future artists – and future audiences – by providing arts education in our schools.
If we believe that art can matter, that art can help transform our lives, if we reject the idea that art is merely a disposable luxury, if we believe that the questions raised by art are as essential as the answers our politicians sometimes provide – then perhaps, finally, our country will begin to do a better job funding the arts, through private donation but even more importantly, through governmental subsidy.
If we entertain the idea that our country, our world is a work of art, and our leaders and organizers are artists, then – from one artist to another – we should all support the arts!
Which we thought was a nice touch, especially in light of the recent brush with the arts tax here in PA. He also big-upped Wanamaker’s; all told, it just might have been enough to forgive the man for Artificial Intelligence: AI.
