Archive for the “guest blog” Category

And no, it’s not about his dog. 

People here are getting geared up for President Obama’s speech at the ASU Commencement. Granted, it pretty exciting, but the most interesting thing for me isn’t the “historical moment” but the fact there are some people who will find a way to take a big ol’ shit on anything.

Case in point:  a couple of months before the official announcement of the President’s visit, I received an email on the official ASU listserv that asked me to take a brief survey about Obama’s visit.  The focus of said “survey” was to find out how the ASU community felt about the possibility of  awarding an honorary degree to the sitting President. In his usual johnny-come-lately fashion, ASU Il Duce Michael Crow stated in a press release that while it was always the intention of the university to recognize and honor the President’s achievements, they had “not yet determined the best or most appropriate way to do so.”  In the end, ASU opted to establish a scholarship in his name — which I think is probably the what they intended to do from the beginning, since scholarship programs don’t just appear like a bad David Blane illusion.

What was telling, though, was the fact that somebody thought this question ought to have been raised in the first place.  I hate to throw words around without provocation (ok… that’s a lie) — words like bigot, racist, inbred dumb ass — and I don’t want to speculate about people’s intentions. I WOULD like to point out, however, that when President George Dubya “I’m the decider” Bush gave the Commencement Speech at Notre Dame in 2001, no one batted an eye when that paragon of academic mediocrity received an honorary degree.

Hmmmm.  I have to tell ya… it makes me leery to drink the water around here. Me thinks stupidity is more of pandemic than the swine flu.

Tags: Arizona, ASU, Commencement Speech, Historic event, Michael Crow, obama, scholarships and other cool stuff, stupid stupid stupid

In the bustle of news coverage over the past four days one thing struck me me as I listened to Obama before the inauguration—that artists arts education —and are vital to civic life and social renewal. I cannot find the actual quote or the actual video —but I would encourage you to try cable news sites, perhaps Hulu looking for reels from early Monday evning. Regardless of source, as I have it—Obama was reiterating a commitment to the arts along the lines of three key priorities:

1. Expanding public/private partnerships between schools and arts organizations
2. Creating an Artists Corps
3. Publicly championing the importance of arts education

Now, we have to go back to Kennedy to hear someone in Obama’s position explicitly define and champion the idea that artists and the arts play an indispensable role in civic life.  Backwards from there—we have to go back to the 40’s and 50’s to see anything approaching Obama’s open armed welcome to creators and authenticators of the human experience. In my time as an educator, a student, an artist, a publisher and a public servant—I have never heard such a fearless affirmation of the arts from without the arts community—and it never made sense to me as my grandparents home, and the theater in my home town featured works from that long ago era. It neither made sense why a dialogue has not been maintained in my time as our greatest national artifacts are the words of poets, cloth cut by designers, halls chiseled by masons imagined by architects—not to mention the phonograph, the microchip and the transformation of an arid godforsaken place called California. I believe anyone would be hard pressed to find a society that more so requires creativity and determination—to advance its ideals and meet its greatest challenges. Personally, I applaud President Obama’s willingness to assert a vision and an appreciation for the arts in civic life—not as it was the easy thing to say—or the right thing to want to do, but, because the wisdom is discrete and its merit, affordable.

The  image that help mobilize the history brought about today—was crafted by Shepard Fairey, a geurilla artist who required little more than paper, ink, gluten and a venue in unclaimed spaces to execute its delivery. The message is simple and powerful —”Hope”. I have heard many denigrate its simplicity by claiming its appeal is emotional while lacking  substance, but I beg to differ understanding a the history of political art this work arrives after. Fairey’s work transcends the affective to strike a chord—as the use of colors red and blue simplifies the face of a man inspired to transcend a treacherous and virulent national dialogue by aiming to chart a new course with all his worth. How fitting it is then, that our feature at this moment in history is Scot Kaplan, an artist who agitates discussion about the location of the commons—and asking us to evaluate space. Indeed, Fairey and Kaplan both renew confidence that artists can satisfy more than those with a for anomie and its spectacle, in sharp contrast, can in fact, nourish purpose and meaning. It is my hope, that when we awake tomorrow—we will do so with a confidence seemingly lost generations ago—that we are rightful custodians and heirs to the idea that civic life is void without the efforts of innovators. That there is no greater canvas or venue we could aspire to—than to secure the story of this time to speak for ourselves and our world—as history has always required—and now insist, we must.

lo

Publisher, semantikon.com/Three Fools Press

Tags: creativity, obama, policy, publishers notes, shepard fairey, the commons

I don’t consider myself a political person.

Today I woke up the same time as any other day: noon. I grabbed my two boys, my parrotlets Ernie and Louie, and ventured downstairs. Once in the TV room, where their food and water is, I noticed the DVR was recording. Somewhat groggy still, I wondered what the hell my girlfriend was recording now, fearing that her scheduled recordings of Run’s House were getting out of hand.

I turned on the TV and was immediately reminded that it was Inauguration Day.

I took a seat and listened to our freshly minted President orate, amazed by the scene surrounding the Mall. I was reminded of the swath King, among many others, had cut, and of the power and possibility of the spoken word. I was given pause when I was asked to consider giving up some of my hours at work to help someone else whose hours was being cut. I wondered how I could do that.

I was also thrilled to hear my religious denomination—non-believer—included in this particular Address.

When our new President finished, I smiled.

Like the many others who fled the Mall then, I went into the next room to fill my boys’ bowls. I was standing by the refrigerator when, inexplicably, I started to weep. I was overwhelmed by, not just the long shadow of slavery and inequality and cruelty to men and women, but also by an almost alien pride. Yes, for the first time in a long, long time, I was just so goddamn proud of my country. And filled with something approaching optimism.

I stood in the open refrigerator door holding a bottle of mineral water in my hand, thinking: OK, ladies and gentlemen, we got a good thing going here, let’s not fuck it up….

Tags: American Optimism, American Pride, Barack Obama, Inauguration Day, mark flanigan, Pacific Parrotlets