Petition for Secretary of the Arts

[Lois Gilbert]

The SECRETARY OF THE ARTS PETITION inspired by Quincy Jones; he was interviewed on WNYC on November 14th 2008 by John Schaefer:

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/soundcheck...egments/115299


As signer number 2570 Branford Marsalis commented:

"We are the only developed country without one."

I hope you'll sign and that you'll invite as many as possible to sign too.

The petition page:
http://www.petitiononline.com/esnyc/petition.html

It's also mentioned here:
http://philanthropy.com/news/governm...-arts-position

And here:
http://www.quincyjones.com/?p=894

[Monte Smith]

What would a Secretary of Art do? In European countries, the minister of arts chiefly promotes the film industry and hypes local culture abroad. Is that a problem the USA has? Nobody listens to our records or watches our films or reads our books? American culture, for good or ill, is the dominant aesthetic on the planet. Or would the Secretary of Art do something else? Would he or she improve our minds? Feed us art that is good for us?

[Gerardo A]

Originally Posted by Monte Smith

American culture, for good or ill, is the dominant aesthetic on the planet.

Not in film, not in music anymore, and it certainly never has been in literature. Sorry. I'll give you TV, though.

[Lois Gilbert]

I think it's a great idea. I would thinik anything that has the possibility of promoting the arts is a good thing.