A fair few people I know have got angry at this. I dont think theres any percentage in dismissing it, or the author, as ignorant or a Philistine or whatever else. This is a clearly an issue for a lot of Australians, and it needs addressing. The encouraging thing about the article is that it places value on talent. However, the distinction between various kinds of talent is one I make based on an experience which - the more I practice - threatens to separate my viewpoint from those who dont practice. This is not a good thing, nor something I should ever ignore. One widespread distinction that I often see between practicing artists - or those who have a wide experience of art - and those who arent, or dont, involves what manifestations of talent they value. The people Mitchell Browne talks about, who work alongside him and can sing like Jaroussky, play bass like Mingus and dance like Fred Astaire, are - I believe him - talented performers. The question is what theyre going to sing - what bass lines theyre going to play - what dances theyre going to do. Theres already a Jaroussky. There was already a Mingus. And Fred Astaire will always be amazing. But doing what they did again isnt all that arts about. Its true that cover versions - opera, ballet, state theatre companies doing West End hits and classics - *is* the lions share of Australian performing arts funding. Its also where the money in commercial theatre is *always* going to be. However, at the level of arts funding which Mitchell - and George Brandis, too - is attacking, which is the one that I work at, its not about the talent to do whats already been done. Its the capacity to come up with a new idea, one that hasnt been done before, and see it through. Not all of em succeed. Hell, a lot of its terrible. Ive done some of that myself. But theres more to building than laying bricks. A lot of architecture is bollocks, too, as Mitchell will no doubt tell you. Maybe his life would even be better without any new architects in the world. My question is, can the work of an architect and the work of a bricklayer really benefit one another without respect for - as opposed to ignorance of -how the other actually functions?
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 07:53:15 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015