Mr Miller- I enjoy reading, and thinking about these things.....just a lot. Really just a nice 10-15 minutes of not worrying about anything- just being interested.
I support this message, your dream and your vision! Until then, keep doing your thing you do so well and I will keep buying your art and attending your shows.
The day I graduated college, my older friend and mentor put her hands on mine and said “Don’t forget to dream.” I love those words. I’m grateful that you haven’t forgotten to dream, and as you often say “create every day.”
Really interesting idea. Cocktail napkin math, Irish program extends to 0.04% of their population. Since US gov identifies 1.6% of US workers as artists, a US program at similar scale would cover 2.5% of US artists. Expect the devil would be in the selection criteria details
We are screwed up as a nation in terms of our priorities. The world is certainly chaotic and you can't depend on other nations/factions to do the right thing. So that dictates a lot of our spending as a nation. I understand that to a degree. But the arts are just an afterthought largely. We are so driven by male ego which is such a 'survival of the fittest' mentality. How does that get changed? I don't have the answer. A case can be made that some European nations have figured out how to minimize that to a good degree. But not here in the United States. Somehow the problems generated by male ego in this country need to be addressed. I kind of went of on a tangent. But how men view the arts in this country is the cause of what you bring up.
If success and 'deserving' money for what you do could be measured by how many people you made happy, or at least less miserable, artists and musicians might get paid what they're worth. I doubt I'll ever be able to pay my mortgage and feed all my critters and kids by writing short stories, but my daughter wants to write and illustrate, so I'm doing essentially for her what the Irish government is doing--live here! Write! Draw! Publish! Try, dream, work at it!! And maybe one day, she will be able to pay a mortgage, but at least she can be free to pursue that dream without having paying rent hanging over her head. Sorry, I rambled!
Gosh this is so well said. Amen amen amen. Not just “amplifying the beating heart at the center of our collective humanity” but keeping it beating across millennia since “life is nasty, brutish, and short” but “art is long,” or whatever that quote is.
Amen!! I’m still a dayjobber, after 30 years of trying. I’m still out there in it, but tethered to the 9-5 for insurance and the idea that my kids should probably eat and stuff. We met a few times, I play in a trucker band that was on OCC 7. That week was mind altering (and I’m sober!), and it was such a treat to get to be on THAT side of the industry. It’s still weekends at bars and the occasional full band show, but I ain’t stopping. Hell, I think at 48 years old and sober I’m making the best music of my life! Anyway, thanks for this post, and I’m looking forward to more. Take care Rhett.
If it’s possible to “heart” and “like” this T&T post to infinity, then I shall ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️...
“THE EARTH WITHOUT ART IS JUST EH.” - Rhett Miller.
Truer words!!!!
Mr Miller- I enjoy reading, and thinking about these things.....just a lot. Really just a nice 10-15 minutes of not worrying about anything- just being interested.
Thank you very much!
I support this message, your dream and your vision! Until then, keep doing your thing you do so well and I will keep buying your art and attending your shows.
The day I graduated college, my older friend and mentor put her hands on mine and said “Don’t forget to dream.” I love those words. I’m grateful that you haven’t forgotten to dream, and as you often say “create every day.”
Really interesting idea. Cocktail napkin math, Irish program extends to 0.04% of their population. Since US gov identifies 1.6% of US workers as artists, a US program at similar scale would cover 2.5% of US artists. Expect the devil would be in the selection criteria details
We are screwed up as a nation in terms of our priorities. The world is certainly chaotic and you can't depend on other nations/factions to do the right thing. So that dictates a lot of our spending as a nation. I understand that to a degree. But the arts are just an afterthought largely. We are so driven by male ego which is such a 'survival of the fittest' mentality. How does that get changed? I don't have the answer. A case can be made that some European nations have figured out how to minimize that to a good degree. But not here in the United States. Somehow the problems generated by male ego in this country need to be addressed. I kind of went of on a tangent. But how men view the arts in this country is the cause of what you bring up.
If success and 'deserving' money for what you do could be measured by how many people you made happy, or at least less miserable, artists and musicians might get paid what they're worth. I doubt I'll ever be able to pay my mortgage and feed all my critters and kids by writing short stories, but my daughter wants to write and illustrate, so I'm doing essentially for her what the Irish government is doing--live here! Write! Draw! Publish! Try, dream, work at it!! And maybe one day, she will be able to pay a mortgage, but at least she can be free to pursue that dream without having paying rent hanging over her head. Sorry, I rambled!
Gosh this is so well said. Amen amen amen. Not just “amplifying the beating heart at the center of our collective humanity” but keeping it beating across millennia since “life is nasty, brutish, and short” but “art is long,” or whatever that quote is.
Amen!! I’m still a dayjobber, after 30 years of trying. I’m still out there in it, but tethered to the 9-5 for insurance and the idea that my kids should probably eat and stuff. We met a few times, I play in a trucker band that was on OCC 7. That week was mind altering (and I’m sober!), and it was such a treat to get to be on THAT side of the industry. It’s still weekends at bars and the occasional full band show, but I ain’t stopping. Hell, I think at 48 years old and sober I’m making the best music of my life! Anyway, thanks for this post, and I’m looking forward to more. Take care Rhett.
Sean Hopkins