Art History Journal

Government funding for the arts. Well, like most of my class mates... I have a hard time deciding how I feel about this. The programs that are currently in place seem to limit the bounds of what the funds will go to. I also have a hard time placing the words government and art in the same sentence. On the other hand I realize art movements of the past have been driven by political happenings. These happenings also gave/give artists a reason to express themselves. So we can not totally detach ourselves from the two. As far as funding goes... it would be nice if the funds could support what the artists of the world feel is important. With the corruption and power hungry ententies that have reared their ugly heads in the government system today, it seems that there will always be questions as to whether the intention is pure. Like any other purely government funded program, we would be placing ourselves and other artists in the hands of a power we could not wield. But how else will art reach the world and our children's education system? It is a double edged sword. The arts and other important parts of a child's educational journey have been shaved because of laws and acts that were (also government funded) put into place. I think that there is some good that has been put into the funded part of art. The intention does not always remain the same and new people come into power. That's life. Art is a way of expression and made to draw thought and emotion... If you took the right of expression away from the artist- what would they create then?