Preface - Electronic Poetry Center

From: Bob Perelman
Subject: Government by Irritation [op-ed, Philadelphia Enquirer]
… Government by irritation: it’s one of the dominant political modes of our
day. Taking their cue from talk show hosts, politicians try to topple their
opponents by unleashing discontent. These days the NEA serves as a handy
source of annoyance if not outrage: a few well-publicized examples of
troublesome art have, over the last few years, been able to furnish a great
supply of instant political energy.
It’s not easy to argue against such energy. The value of art is not always
instantly apparent–and at the same the difficulties art brings with it are much
more likely to be perceived at a glance. The latest remarks by senators that the
NEA be abolished unless it supports "family values" show how true this is.
Rather than arguing for art that is familiar, obedient and at best ornamental, I
think case that art is valuable to the community precisely because it is not
perfectly predictable or obedient. That will not mean that unruly art is
automatically wonderful. Art is one of the testing grounds between individuals
and the community. The point is that it’s an opportunity for judgment:
members of the community will need to make up their minds. That’s one of the
basic values of art: it can’t be approached dogmatically.
If it’s considered in terms of the federal budget as a whole, the NEA is hardly a
big deal. The federal budget is around a trillion and a half dollars a year; the
NEA budget is $167 million. If my math holds, that means that the NEA takes
up about one ten thousandth of the federal budget. That’s less than the military
spends on marching bands, less than the city of Berlin spends on public art.
To eliminate the NEA would save each American 65 cents a year. Here in
Philadelphia, dance, poetry, the visual arts, theater would all suffer; the gamut
of organizations affected would range from the Institute for Contemporary Art
to the Please Touch Museum, from the Philadelphia Orchestra to the Settlement
Music School. The bigger, more established concerns would take a hit; some of
the smaller organizations might have to close. Those who are out of sympathy
with the arts might think that’s fine: that if a theater company needs a handout
to survive there’s something wrong with it. But to consider the arts in such a
framework is an unfair oversimplification.