Bill, Steve, Paul and others

As one who worked to keep Academy Arts alive (by 
artificial means?) and who saw it's demise along 
with the Fringe first hand, I feel that I  need 
to say a few things:
	1. Both the Fringe and Academy Arts 
generated no revenue for AOM and cost several 
thousand dollars in outlay each year. I 
personally laid out many bucks for unreimbursed 
expenses as well.
	2. The Fringe became a program within a 
program raising questions about how one got space 
on the AOM program. Those who had  Academy Arts 
submissions accepted were, by and large, unable 
to get institutional funding.
	3. Jean Bartunek in her JMI article 
"Academy Arts - the birth, short life, and death 
of an innovation" presents a balanced view (I 
think) of how the program started with a 
suggestion from Steve Taylor for  AOM 2000 in 
Toronto and how it took its course without ever 
achieving the heights at which it started in 
Toronto.
	4. Keeping Arts submissions aligned with 
the theme was easy the first time - the theme was 
"time." The following year in Washington the 
theme was "How governments matter" - the 
overwhelming lack of response planted the seeds 
of its demise. As Chair the following year I had 
ongoing discussions with Rosalie Tung, the 
Program VP for 2002 in Denver. She gave it her 
support but there was a clear subtext that it was 
on borrowed time.
	5. Those interested in aesthetics and 
arts are a small portion of the membership of the 
Academy. The last year, 2005, in Honolulu showed 
just how little interest there was. David Cowan 
got his university to sponsor coffee for the 
Fringe; we had gallons left undrunk each day 
while Academy participants sat at tables outside 
the Cafe in the very wide open space of the 
Convention Center, drinking coffee from the 
vendor stands which came at a high price. Putting 
out signs pointing the way to free coffee within 
were unheeded.

Keep planting AACORNS and one day a strong tree 
will emerge and spread if the emergent plants are 
tended well and the environment is not toxic.

Cheers
Chris



>Steve, you are absolutely right that interest 
>did not wane on this important topic, and that 
>the Academy actively suppressed it. I think you 
>are partially right on why, too, but there must 
>have been more to it. The powers on the Board 
>avidly stamped on it and tried to pull out the 
>roots. As one who was involved in putting on 
>plays and writing poems as well as attending 
>many Fringe Cafe events, I was disgusted.
>
>Best,
>Bill
>
>William P
>
>William P. Ferris, Ph.D.
>
>Professor of Management
>
>School of Business
>
>Western New England College
>
>1215 Wilbraham Road
>
>Springfield, MA 01119
>
>
>
>Tel: 413-782-1629
>
>Fax: 413-796-2068
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Steve Linstead wrote:
>
>>Dear Paul
>>
>>I'm sorry I can't be at the Academy this year. 
>>I think any initiative that seeks to advance 
>>the cause of aesthetic understanding in the 
>>Academy is to be welcomed. But a couple of 
>>points you might wish to consider:
>>
>>1) The Academy Arts caucus and the Fringe cafe 
>>did not slip away from lack of interest. They 
>>were received with some hostility by some of 
>>the academy representatives and eventually were 
>>actively killed off. I know a lot of people 
>>were disillusioned and many were quite bitter.
>>
>>2) Your point about "emerging interest" might 
>>well bring a wry smile to the lips of those who 
>>have been developing this area over the past 20 
>>years - most if not all of whom I think are in 
>>AACORN. I think in particular the continued 
>>existence of SCOS, whose members have played a 
>>major part in developing the area since 1984 is 
>>a strong indicator that there is broad 
>>sustainability in this interest, and the 
>>continued success of the Art of Management and 
>>Organization conference which Ian King, Ceri 
>>Watkins and myself started in Essex in 2002 has 
>>provided a specific and international (this 
>>year's conference is in North America) focus 
>>for organizational aesthetics that clearly 
>>demonstrates its currency. Basically you will 
>>have probably guessed that I think that the 
>>interest is not so much emerging as suppressed 
>>where the Academy is concerned.
>>
>>3) One reason for this antipathy might be that, 
>>although your email stresses the positive and 
>>performative aspects of aesthetics, aesthetic 
>>practice on the whole inevitably raises more 
>>critical aspects of organizing and management - 
>>it helps to build understanding, warts and all, 
>>rather than just making organizations more 
>>creative and better managed. For Adorno, 
>>aesthetic practice HAD to be critical or else 
>>it was kitsch - and responsible for reproducing 
>>the commodified sensual passivity that allowed 
>>capitalism to continue to dominate and exploit 
>>smoothly and effectively whilst glossing its 
>>contradictions. Where religion was the opiate 
>>of the masses for Marx, for Adorno it was jazz. 
>>Given the proximity of the AoM conference 
>>centre to Disneyland, there may be some 
>>resonances here.
>>
>>Anyway, best of luck and I look forward to seeing the outcome.
>>
>>Steve
>>
>>On Jul 10 2008, Paul Shrivastava wrote:
>>
>>>AACORN & AoM friends
>>>
>>>Please join the Caucus on Organization, Art 
>>>and Aesthetic on August 11, 2008, Monday 
>>>8.30-10.20 AM Ventura Room, Hilton Anaheim.
>>>
>>>For nearly a hundred years, Management 
>>>scholars and teachers have been chasing 
>>>scientific paradigms in search of management 
>>>truths. In this single minded pursuit they 
>>>have ignored "managing as an art and the art 
>>>of managing". "Art" is used here not as a 
>>>metaphor, but as representation of a 
>>>substantive aesthetic. Organizations are 
>>>suffused with art and aesthetic. In recent 
>>>years this has become an important area of 
>>>study. Many management academics are seeking 
>>>managing skills and insights from performing, 
>>>visual, media and other arts. There is much to 
>>>be gained by this kind of inquiry. Art is a 
>>>key to human emotions. Aesthetic study of 
>>>organizations can open up the poorly 
>>>understood emotional aspects of organizations.
>>>
>>>There is no Division of the Academy of 
>>>Management that focuses on the art and 
>>>aesthetics of managing and organizing. At the 
>>>2006 AoM meetings there was an all academy 
>>>symposium on this topic which was well 
>>>attended. And in a prior years there was a 
>>>caucus and the Fringe Café, which brought 
>>>together people with these interests. So I 
>>>believe there is emerging interest in this 
>>>topic.
>>>
>>>The purpose of this caucus is to share 
>>>artistic and aesthetic organizational inquiry 
>>>and teaching approaches, and to explore 
>>>interest among Academy members of establishing 
>>>an Interest Group representing this area. We 
>>>invite scholars and teachers who study or use 
>>>artful methods, or any aspect of the arts in 
>>>their scholarship or teaching to join us. Come 
>>>and sing your management song, do the 
>>>organizational dance, show us your stand-up 
>>>act, share your organizational paintings, 
>>>photos, films, videos, give a dramatic 
>>>performance.
>>>
>>>The coffee table will be set up near Santa 
>>>Barbara/Ventura room which is around the 
>>>corner from Balboa B/C.
>>>
>>>Looking forward to seeing you in Anaheim!
>>>Paul