Preserving the arts, enhancing our culture

To the Editor:

The "City of Eagles" dedication on Saturday, July 7, was truly inspirational; civic pride, cooperation and carefully chosen words well spoken. I commend each and every one that made it possible. It would, however, be easy to overlook the medium of the event, i.e., art—in this case a large metal sculpture. This eagle will speak to residents and visitors alike in ways that only art can. What is this power of the arts?

Dana Gioia, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, in his commencement address at Stanford University in June said it well:

Art is an irreplaceable way of understanding and expressing the world—equal to but distinct from scientific and conceptual methods. Art addresses us in the fullness of our being—simultaneously speaking to our intellect, emotions, intuition, imagination, memory, and physical senses. There are some truths about life that can be expressed only as stories, or songs, or images.

Examples abound—right here in Libby—of young lives at risk, transformed by expression through the arts.

There is, however, cause for concern.

A Western News review of a piano concert by Jason Paul Peterson at the Memorial Center a week earlier praised his performance but described the audience as "alarmingly small." Alarming, indeed, is the loss of recognition of artists, scientists and thinkers in our culture. While most teens, and adults, in Lincoln County can tell you something of Paris Hilton, how many can name even one contemporary sculptor, architect or poet?

Gioia said, "Everything now is entertainment, and the purpose of this omnipresent commercial entertainment is to sell us something. American culture has mostly become one vast infomercial." We don't have to tell people in Lincoln County about the importance of economy, but when everything is reduced to the price of things rather than their value, our culture is in deep trouble. Even the news—even religious worship in some cases—has been reduced to entertainment.

There's nothing wrong with entertainment, per se, but it must be held in balance. As Gioia said, "Entertainment …exploits and manipulates who we are rather than challenging us with a vision of who we might become."

Perhaps we can't change the world, but we can have an impact right here. Todd Berget is right on; let's enhance our cities with murals and sculptures. And let's support the arts, beginning in our schools, with quality teachers and directors. Let's forego the "reality" TV program to attend performances at our schools and performance centers. Let's become active participants in the arts rather than passive consumers. The future of our culture depends on it.

Les Nelson

Libby