Mark wrote:
>> But things are probably worse in Australia.
>>
The reason things are worse here in that aspect is that we have such heavy
monopolisation of the mainstream media - only three major media companies,
and only two (New Ltd and Fairfax) in newspapers. None of the newspapers
take anything like a serious attitude to arts reporting/reviewing, and
whatever one thinks of those who do it, they are battling against the tide
to get any but the most basic coverage in the pages at all. There is very
little status/money to be had from the arts, except in their more corporate
forms.
The coverage is events/celebrity led, and nowt to be done about it. A few
brave and reckless individuals might make a difference, but the proprietors
are on the whole careful not to employ such people - consequently, one gets
to read reviews, say, of the latest Rimbaud biography by someone who had
clearly never heard of Rimbaud before reading the book. (It was a low
point). The effect, which is not I think entirely deliberate but more by
default, is a kind of cultural totalitarianism, the creation of an
"official culture" (by culture I'm meaning the mediation between artist and
public). It is not on the whole ill-meaning, but it is generally worse
than useless - it insulates "the arts" in a kind of vacuum which has little
to do with the general culture of ideas in say, science or politics, mere
consumables. When people complain about elitism in the arts, what they
mean is generally its Saatchi and Saatchi presentation (which is where a
large part of Australia Council budget is going). Given that, people can
be forgiven for thinking that the arts for the rich and leisured, and how
many have the time or inclination to find out otherwise?
On the other hand... there is a kind of freedom in this situation. Free of
expectations of any kind, artists can do what they like. And that can be
interesting. But I can't say I feel especially sanguine about the cultural
atmosphere in this country at the moment - and not just in the "arts
industry" -
Best
A
|