COMMENTARY : Clinton Bodes Well for the Arts

How does a President listen to a nation? Is his only tangible guide opinion polls, media coverage and the words of his advisers?

As producer of “Great Performances” on public television for more than 20 years, I believe that, historically, the greatest leaders of our country, those who truly have their finger on its pulse, are those who listen to America’s soul through its artists.

Now, as Bill Clinton’s inauguration approaches, many people are asking what effect his presidency will have on the arts. As we look to the next four years and reach toward the next millennium, enthusiastically exploring powerful new technologies that will allow the arts to reach more people than ever before, the arts can be a powerful conscience to our President and to us all.

The arts are, after all, the voice of the people. They are the language of our souls, giving expression to our innermost joys, sorrows, fears, dreams and aspirations. They enlarge our experience by enabling us to enter the inner life of others. In truth, they are America’s psychic heartland.

Those leaders who have not listened to the artist or fear such expression do not serve America. “What happens to a dream deferred?” the poet Langston Hughes wrote. “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? . . . Or does it explode?”

There are times, to be sure, when the arts do not paint a particularly pretty picture of the world. Sometimes it is the artist’s intention to shock or surprise, provoking us into seeing a part of life from a new perspective. Rather than reproducing the present order, the artist attempts to create a new order, rearranging words or notes or images in ways that are sometimes beautiful and sometimes disturbing, sometimes harmonious and sometimes dissonant. To fear such expression is shortsighted and counterproductive.

Our wisest leaders know when to applaud and when to take heed. I believe that some of our Presidents have listened to the artist, heard or seen the message and were moved to act. As my staff and I began to think about this premise, and investigate, we found intsances in which Presidents commissioned art to deliver messages of their own. Others, like President John F. Kennedy, reminded us that the arts are an essential part of life by making the White House a showcase for American culture.

Our national anthem is a poem put to music. And, let us not forget that artists have always used our most enduring visual symbol, the American flag. Woodrow Wilson galvanized the artistic community to create art that would mobilize our nation to support World War I. James Montgomery Flagg’s famous poster “Wake Up, America” powerfully delivered the President’s message. President Franklin D. Roosevelt invoked the lyrics of “Happy Days Are Here Again” as a rallying cry for Democratic victory and national renewal. Perhaps Roosevelt, our greatest listener, also heard in Huey Long’s song “Every Man a King” the strains of America’s pain and a nation’s longing. And, he created the Works Progress Administration, which not only gave work to artists and writers but also uplifted the American people by sharing those works with them.

At his inauguration, John F. Kennedy asked Robert Frost to read a poem and invited more than 50 of the country’s outstanding writers, painters and composers to attend the ceremonies. From “The Gift Outright” Frost read:

Summoning artists to participate

In august occasions of the state

Seems something artists ought to celebrate

Kennedy’s advocacy of the arts inspired the creation of the National Endowment for the Arts in 1965 after his death. The first NEA grant ever awarded was for $100,000, presented by Vice President Hubert Humphrey to the American Ballet Theatre, saving it from bankruptcy and extinction.

As a nation, we must ask how Lyndon B. Johnson listened to “We Shall Overcome” and created the most sweeping civil rights bill in our nation’s history but failed to hear Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind,” one of our most famous war-protest songs?

While Bill Clinton played the saxophone on “Arsenio Hall” and sang Elvis on “Charlie Rose,” did President Bush ever listen to the rap music of young voices from our nation’s inner cities?

The arts can help ground us, reminding us of essential truths, and perhaps, by exaggerating a vision of the future, save us from the perils of progressing too fast or in the wrong direction. The arts may also serve to unite the diverse people of our nation and the world, reminding us of our common pilgrimage through life, and of the profound feelings we inevitably share. Finally, our leaders need to remember that arts can be a healing process and the communion of a people.

What we know about Bill Clinton bodes well for the arts. While governor of Arkansas, he initiated sweeping educational reforms and new standards, including art and music in the curriculum for all kindergarten to 12th-grade students, and required fine-arts instruction for high school graduation. Arkansas is among a few states that have included the arts in the basic required high school curriculum and with these initiatives, student participation in the art programs increased 30% while funding for positions for music and art teachers increased 35% as a result.

What Bill Clinton and his fellow educators in Arkansas so wisely realized is that each child conceals an original and passionate voice and that by offering the arts freely to every child everywhere we invest in our future as a country--unbound by constraints on our collective imagination. A child who sprays graffiti may never have been properly offered paper, paint, instruction and admiration. Or the discipline of dance. Or the wonders of school plays that spoke directly to his or her best nature. And who will the adult be if the child is deprived of this?

“Arts education is life education,” Thomas F. Naegele, a teacher, wrote for a United Federation of Teachers publication. “We cannot begin to grasp history, social studies and the sciences without the imagery of personalities and populations in their habitats, as depicted by artists in their time.”

Studying the arts enables our nation’s young people to understand and appreciate other cultures, opening their imaginations to the rich diversity of the world in which we live. Furthermore, the arts provide a new and different arena in which our children can explore and excel, giving them confidence to reach for excellence in other areas of life as well.

“Great Performances” recently featured the Rhythm Technicians & Rock Steady Crew, a vibrant troupe of inner city youths who celebrate art, music and dance. “Dancing wasn’t a whim for them,” producer Maggie Selby told me. “Dancing saved their lives.”

The American people agree that one mission of a “Great Society,” to use Lyndon B. Johnson’s term, is to nurture creativity. They overwhelmingly believe that arts education cannot be underestimated. sLat March, 80% of those surveyed by a nationwide Harris poll favored federal funding for the arts in education. What’s more 60% favored federal funding for the arts in general, believing that the arts are a vital part of our national culture.

In 1991-92, in the face of shifting priorities and declining grant awards from the NEA, Gov. Clinton strongly sustained his state’s support for touring programs and local arts agencies. While many states’ arts agency budgets dropped as much as 40%, the budget for the Arkansas Arts Council increased its funding.

Also, Sen. Albert J. Gore opposed measures which would cut funding for the NEA and place content restrictions on federally funded artists. Since its inception, the NEA has been supported by most of our Presidents, finding a friend and ally in President Richard M. Nixon, under whose Administration the budget nearly quadrupled. When President Ronald Reagan tried to cut the budget in half in 1982, members of the arts community and Congress rallied to defeat the proposal. And last year it faced criticism from Jesse Helms and emerged bruised but a survivor.

When public television’s government funding was challenged, and performance programs like “Great Performances”--which deliver the arts to a much wider audience for free and in prime time--were at risk, we watched Sen. Gore, among others, lead the fight for our survival. As public television celebrates its 25th anniversary, it is important for our leaders to remember that government created public television to reflect the diversity of this country. What better way than through performance?

Despite such victories, our nation’s annual expenditure on the arts remains minuscule. Last year, we spent approximately 68 cents per person on the arts. By comparison, Germany spends approximately $73 per person each year on the arts, the Netherlands spends $33, and Great Britain about $12.

When we look back at the great civilizations, what we remember and cherish is not so much their military might, but their artistic achievements. As President Kennedy said, “Aeschylus and Plato are remembered today long after the triumphs of imperial Athens are gone. Dante outlived the ambitions of 13th-Century Florence. Goethe stands serenely above the politics of Germany, and I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contributions to the human spirit.”

Bill Clinton has expressed his support for the arts, saying that they “should play an essential role in educating and enriching all Americans.” As the eve of his inauguration approaches, we, who care about self-expression are heartened and hopeful. When a President ennobles the arts, he ennobles America.