Making Elite Art Accessible to Minorities

UC Irvine professor of anthropology, Robert Garfias, should be applauded for his efforts to involve minorities in the high art of our European tradition (“Elitist Art World Hostile to Minorities, Professor Says,” April 18). . . . Unfortunately, opportunities to participate, which Garfias admits are currently available, will not be exploited because of one simple fact: aesthetic preference is based upon familiarity. Elite art forms are alien to minorities because their life experiences do not include sufficient exposure to such forms.

Minority participation in popular art forms, however, is at a high level. They are “educated” to value these forms through the mass media; these relatively simple forms, which are often mundane and banal, require minimal instruction. Elite arts are complex forms that require long and careful instruction to be fully understood and appreciated. Such instruction is usually not provided in our schools. The fine arts are viewed as entertainment and are dealt with on an elective, ad hoc basis.

Where is the commitment of our schools to offer a truly comprehensive arts education? Where is the commitment of institutions such as UC Irvine to prepare teachers who are capable of providing a K-12 education that will nurture the abilities and motivations needed to participate fully in the more advanced cultural life of the community? Why doesn’t UCI have an advanced degree program to train the teachers of such teachers? Are its amazing science students, many of whom are members of minorities, also being arts educated, so that they will demand adequate schooling in the arts for their own children?

RON SILVERMAN

Irvine