Art in the face of recession.

By: Tess Cartwright, www.tessential.com

Economic downturn, financial collapse, credit crunch, times like these, depression, recession... The media has had their monetary thesaurus at their side for what seems like ages. Admittedly, we need them to change their terminology so we can stomach the incessant redundancy they call reporting. We get it! Greediness has reared its ugly head and is disintegrating everything we think we know about lifestyle. Material possessions cannot satisfy our souls, it can only distract us from feeling incomplete. Now that we can't afford materials we are left to face ourselves and try desperately to not be another human being spiraling downwards towards depression and fear. So, what can the government do to help society with anathema? Well it isn't bail out more banks that is for sure! Lets look to the Great Depression of the 1930s. Theodore Roosevelt had a brilliant idea. Lets fund the arts! Why? The arts will inspire, evoke, provoke and connect people. Art in public spaces will bring people together and grant them appreciation for who they are and where they come from. If we surround ourselves with beauty and creation there is no need to search for external objects to feel happy because art guides one to realize their true spirit.

I personally feel there is a lot of resentment towards artists in society. As if, we should be punished for not getting a 9 – 5, as if being an artist is just about wearing a beret and sleeping in till noon. I want to tell those people that being an artist is about having a point of view fueled by passion! To truly be an artist you must wholeheartedly believe what you are doing is a representation of your beliefs and no amount of monetary compensation will compromise that. There are many successful artists who are fortunate to be recognized and be given the support to focus and excel. In an ideal world if an artist was paid every time someone reacted to their piece of work “Wow, look at that!” there would be even more artists able to make a living from their creations. Art is taken for granted in our society, people feel entitled to it. People know that whether they pay them or not artists will continue to create and perform no matter what. This is the paradox that artists face. Now in a time of recession it is not just the artists that are starving, it is now more important than ever to fund or it will disappear. Put more money into it and more people will start expressing themselves and society as a whole will reap the benefits.

We cannot continue to be dutiful capitalists buying and buying to promote economies. These big corporations are taking your money and giving you a soul-less something, manufactured thousands of miles away. Sure this may gratify you briefly until of course you decide on the next poorly-made possession with a stupid logo you want. Instead, buy something handmade by someone in your own country! What a concept: you need something, someone's livlihood is to make that something and have devoted their lives to it because they love it. Why can't the govenment subsidise some of the cost so that is is affordable for people to buy quality crafts by local artists? Instead of the sad reality that China's people are subsidising our lifestyle. This fact is so backwards that it may take me another 6 blogs to wrap my head around. The world will need to change and what could be a better time then now, as we hurtle towards rock-bottom at lightning speed.