Tuesday, October 7th, 2008
From Mr. Bryans (Billy, are you my guiding spirit? Because I see you, in a top hat, on my shoulder, chirping “Always Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide”.) comes this story of what the Globe and Mail (the Globe and Mail!) is saying about the proposed tax burden that Stephen Harper is laying on the artists of this land. And it made me mad.
In justifying the $45-million in cuts to grants for artists his government announced just before the election, Stephen Harper has repeatedly stressed his concern for the sensibilities of a notional everyman. He said last month that “ordinary working people” were unconcerned by the elimination of grants. He also complained that unchecked subsidies could encourage “creators or producers who are entirely cut off from public need or public demand.”
Ah, Stephen, Stephen. Steve. When was the last time you were in one of those “ordinary working people”’s homes? Because look around you. Those pictures? They are art. Those CDs? Art, too. Yes, Stevie baby, ordinary working people like art. They appreciate it.
Sure, it’s nice to think of Canadians as simple folk, living off the land, gazing out at our crops of wheat, or rye, or timber, or oil. Unconcerned about that fancy, schmancy “art” stuff.
But we aren’t. Simple that is. We like art. We want art. And we want Canadian art, because it speaks to us as a people. It’s what illustrates what being Canadian really means. And whether it’s a Group of Seven oil, or a litho by I, Braineater, it’s worth saving and paying for.
Sure, we don’t need it, not like you think we need bread or patronizing platitudes. But every home on that mythical prairie that Stephen likes to think we inhabit, every room, every wall, has a piece of art on it. Maybe it’s saved from last year’s calendar. Or maybe it’s a naive painting of the old homestead, or a bit of embroidery handed from generation to generation. (And if you think that’s not art, check out the prices they’re getting on Antiques Roadshow.
And just because my muse may pick up a guitar rather than a paintbrush doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be obeyed. Art is integral to every Canadian’s life and soul.
Now who’s cut off from public demand?