Does Texas Care About Anything Artistic?
I love the first two sentences of this article from The Art Newspaper: ‘The arts in Texas are better than you might expect. Assuming, of course, you weren’t expecting much.’ The story goes on to say: ‘The state’s cultural scene has developed later than in other major American centers but Texas and its neighbors, Oklahoma and Arkansas, have experienced tremendous growth, and mainly within the past 50 years. No other part of the country has experienced an equivalent cultural boom, especially one largely funded and led by private individuals.’ [Governor Rick Perry’s attitude toward funding the arts is essentially: Drop Dead!] ‘Texas is home to some of the best museums in America and to some of the country’s wealthiest patrons, who tend to exert an inordinate influence on the culture around them.’ All that may be true, but don’t expect me to get on a plane to see a play or opera or exhibition in Dallas or Houston anytime soon. As with Moscow or St. Petersburg, I don’t want to spend anything in places that legally oppress people near and dear to me.
