Our Governor has gotten a lot of ink and face time since November, and much of it ain't pretty. Perhaps you saw him opening his mouth on your local cable outlets. His anti-labor and anti-art rampage that he went on shortly after taking the reins of power at the Statehouse was, well, very embarrassing to our great state. Kill All Art? Well, in seventh grade, I did my part. I had GB, a wonderful art teacher, but just didn't get it. His projects were neat, but I struggled to be mediocre. In a memorable activity, he read us a LIFE Magazine story about the hermit and his goats living on Manana Island, near Monhegan Island off the coast of Maine. After hearing the tale, we had to paint his portrait without seeing a picture of him. My picture wasn't too good, although I remember GB stopping by my table offering me advice with my coloring and shading, but I had fun on that project. I looked forward to art. I still do!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Street Sign
Our Governor has gotten a lot of ink and face time since November, and much of it ain't pretty. Perhaps you saw him opening his mouth on your local cable outlets. His anti-labor and anti-art rampage that he went on shortly after taking the reins of power at the Statehouse was, well, very embarrassing to our great state. Kill All Art? Well, in seventh grade, I did my part. I had GB, a wonderful art teacher, but just didn't get it. His projects were neat, but I struggled to be mediocre. In a memorable activity, he read us a LIFE Magazine story about the hermit and his goats living on Manana Island, near Monhegan Island off the coast of Maine. After hearing the tale, we had to paint his portrait without seeing a picture of him. My picture wasn't too good, although I remember GB stopping by my table offering me advice with my coloring and shading, but I had fun on that project. I looked forward to art. I still do!
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And, getting fall-out from such an ill-advised platform which denigrates fine arts is the man's due. Cannot imagine anyone being so foolish...but, then again, he's a politician.
ReplyDeleteLove your anecdote re. art. You are a born storyteller!
The poster itself is a kind of artsy.
ReplyDeleteAh, an art class tale the hits close to home for Darryl but not Ruth who comes from a family of artists.
ReplyDeleteNot a smart PR campaign even if he feels the need to reduce funding for budgetary concerns.
Darryl and Ruth : )
Here's a picture worth two thousand words, at least. Eliminate art??!!! That exercise you described in art class, the projects E engages her students in, the stimulation of the creative side of the brain in classrooms everywhere make us think in a necessary way to the survival of civilization. Take away art, yo take away a vital building block of humanity.
ReplyDeleteI love art class as kid. I wan't that good but I loved it all the same. Why people would vote for people like this is beyond me.
ReplyDeleteI could say a lot more about those governing us and their love for art.
ReplyDeleteI m just counting the days till the coming elections.
Have a great day my friend.
Costas
We have a governor down here that is just as embarrassing.
ReplyDeleteI had not heard about your governor but then I don't watch much TV (Colbert Report, Cardinals games, maybe a little bit of left wing rant on MSNBC). So what's his problem with art? Is he an Elvis on black velvet kind of guy? Maybe he just doesn't want the state spending a penny on art.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing in this state but we have a Democratic governor. His name is Nixon but we'll keep him anyway.
One of many sites and news organizations that picked up on it.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/03/24/959501/-Maine-Gov-Paul-LePage-extends-war-on-workers-to-war-on-art-about-workers
Congratulations to the authors of the poster, they should make a king sized one and place it in front of his house. And office!
ReplyDeleteI like the fact you call his politics 'embarassing'. I don't use such polite words regarding portuguese politicians and their actions... :-)))
I'm with JM. Embarrassing is an understatement.
ReplyDeleteI Googled and quicky found another description that a lot of commentators seem to have used: Taliban.
This is kind of scary, it feels like going back to witchcraft trials but in the XXIst century, how sad.
Birdman -- I hadn't heard about your new gov. Geez -- how the hell did he get elected? -- barbara
ReplyDeleteI don't know who the people are that are voting for all these negative politicians. I am embarrassed by our Prime Minister, our mayor, and our soon to be (probably) provincial Premier.
ReplyDeleteCombatting your governor's ideas with great political art like this is a good way to do it. Your governor does sound like a looney.
ReplyDeleteIt'll never happen, art is here to stay unlike politicians that come and go, some more quickly than others, I predict that this guy won't be around long! Would love to see one of your artworks Birdman, might be worth a fortune one day!!
ReplyDeletePardon the redundancy, but your governor sounds like an ignorant, uncultured and uneducated philistine.
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot so-called art to be killed, whole museums of rubbish that are an insult to the real masterpieces of the past times. I am not saying that the guy is right, but 'art' is too an easy word today.
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