I suggest we revere Currier & Ives for the same reasons we as a society like
Mr. Kincaids work,  banal sentimentality, and a nostalgia for a past that
never was. Also society is so ignorant of historical connections that it
does not know the difference between honest art and crap that plays to the
lowest common denominator looking for a quick buck (Mr. Kincaid has been
"blessed" by the Market, so he must be good!).  Popular culture can and
should be influenced by a connection to the past and a continueum of craft.
This can only come from museums and the availability of that connection to
everyone.  A vacuum is created by shutting off the spigot of historical
connections and what is created to fill that vacuum is banal sentimentality
and false nostalgia.  Currier and Ives worked in a similar market and played
to the forces that drive it today.  We revere them also because they are now
worth $$$$$$.....so the must be good?

At 11:23 AM 02/26/2001 -0600, schwenkfelder library & heritage center wrote:
>I wonder, though, if Mr. Kincaid's mass-produced sentimentality is not
>dissimilar, at least in motivation, to the same sort of stuff that was
>produced in the 19th century.  We revere it today -- for instance, Currier &
>Ives.  Will Mr. Kincaid enjoy the same sort of position in 150 years?  Hmmm.
>High art?  No.  Examples of popular culture? Yes.
>
>Candace Perry
>Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: (Frank Gregory) <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Sunday, February 25, 2001 3:24 PM
>Subject: Re: A troll! $admission$
>
>
>> I was feeling a bit fiesty today and looking for a fight..but a troll!  I
>> agree with everything you said except that!  You summed up quite nicely
>> exactly the situation we are in.  I too know of no museum professional who
>> wants to keep people out of their museum either.  I apologize for playing
>> devils advocate and pressing butons, but another unfortunate result of the
>> $admission$ issue is the appearance of elitism by institutions that by
>their
>> very nature are suspect anyway.  I have had this argument with lots of
>> people both in and out of the museum world and find myself defending both
>> sides depending on who I am talking to.  It is no wonder that Thomas
>Kincaid
>> and empty nostalgia are considered high art by our society when museums
>> APPEAR to cater only to the wealthy.  In my opinion artists are as
>culpable
>> as museums and the rest of the industry. For years we have been making
>"art
>> for artists" and have left the rest of society behind.
>>
>>
>> At 11:41 AM 02/25/2001 -0600, James Tichgelaar wrote:
>> >OK, I hate responding to trolls, but the other part of the message bugged
>> me more.  I know of no museum professional who
>> >wants to keep people out of their museum.  I am desperately trying to get
>> more people in to my museum.  It is unfortunate
>> >that tax cuts and the shifting of priorities in corporations (who have
>> dramatically increased dividends and executive
>> >compensation while salaries and benefits have fallen when adjusted for
>> inflation, along with the aforementioned cut in
>> >sponsership to smaller non-profits in outlying communities) has reduced
>the
>> available money from those who can afford to
>> >pay for education, health, welfare, and other social goods.   While it is
>> argued that it is more "fair" for everyone to pay for
>> >their own share of supporting institutions such as museums through
>> admissions, the unfortunate result is that those who
>> >most need access to educational services offered by museums and other
>> non-profits are cut out by the need to charge for
>> >services that were once free or low cost.  Look for more institutions to
>> charge for their services if the Bush tax cut gets
>> >rammed through congeress. (Does anyone remember the last time we tried to
>> cut taxes, increase military spending, and
>> >balance the budget?  Is it only a coincidence that that was when the
>> redistribution of wealth towards the top accellerated
>> >in the United States?)
>> >
>> >James H Tichgelaar
>> >Registrar, Arkansas State University Museum
>> >http://museum.astate.edu
>> >
>> >"All we ever wanted was everything.  All we ever got was cold."
>> >
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