Peer Review Process

I applaud Christopher Knight’s battle on the side of “art for art’s sake” (“New Grants Could Redeem City Program,” Calendar, July 27). Art should not be forced to be the handmaiden of social change; art is not particularly good at bringing about such change. It is too bad that we must camouflage art as something else in order to have it valued and funded. But, these are the times, and the city’s Cultural Affairs Department should not be singled out for fault.

I would also like to caution Knight not to praise the peer review process too highly. The peer review process is fraught with politics, especially when the peers are from the same community as the adjudicated artists. This is human nature. One would like to believe that art practitioners are the most high-minded of individuals, but they are just human beings, looking to get ahead, looking to keep control and looking to protect turf.

BENITA BIKE

Sunland