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A forewarning: This promises to be a lengthy post. It’s actually a response to a survey that was posted online, but that seems to have disappeared without warning. The survey was a call for input on the 10- and 25-year goals the arts, history and cultural heritage community should attempt to reach in using funding collected through Minnesota’s Legacy Amendment tax.
For those of you who don’t follow the political scene in Minnesota, the Legacy Amendment was a constitutional amendment passed by voters in November 2008 to increase the sales tax percentage a smidge and dedicate that funding to the environment and arts, history and cultural heritage in the state.
An allocations bill that went through Conference Committee further defined and qualified how Legacy Amendment funds were to be spent, spelling out certain processes, including the formation of a committee that would create a 10- and 25-year plan for what the arts, history and cultural heritage portion of the funding should achieve. This committee was to seek public input, hence the online survey for those of us who couldn’t attend the various public meetings that were held around the state.
I started filling out this online survey a couple of weeks ago, but soon realized that the questions being asked deserved far more than “quicky” answers. (No radio buttons or check boxes with this survey, no sir.) Because of this, I stopped taking the survey, opting instead to run through it and pull the questions, copying and pasting them into a Word document so that I could take time to formulate answers. I discussed the survey questions with Hubby and Eldest Son and we bounced thoughts off of each other. I took notes.
Now that I have responses and the time to fill out the survey, the survey is gone. (Was there a posted deadline? I don’t remember seeing one, but that could be chalked up to my inattentiveness or slippery memory. There’s just too much to pack into this head of mine.)
My blog is coming to the rescue. I’ve decided to post the survey questions and my responses here. Get ready … get set … GO!
Creating a 25 year vision for arts, history and cultural heritage in Minnesota. A vision is a “picture” of what you would like to see in the future.
What is your vision for arts, history and cultural heritage in Minnesota in 2035?
That the arts, history & cultural heritage be considered so integral to the state that people no longer question funding these areas. That they not only be considered “feel-good fluff,” but that they are considered economically essential.
Within 25 years (better yet, this could be a 10-year goal), the Minnesota State Arts Board (MSAB), Minnesota Historical Society (MHS), and Minnesota Humanities Center (MHC) should put together, and heavily promote, a report on what the arts, history and cultural heritage organizations contribute to the economy of the state. Some of this has already been done, particularly by the arts community, but the message does not seem to be reaching people that the arts, history and cultural heritage have a major positive impact on our state. While we are fine with allowing tax subsidies for private businesses because of the jobs they create, why do those in the arts/history/cultural heritage sector have to keep working so hard to prove their worth and make their case?
This 25-year goal was suggested by Eldest Son. He wants to see more art by Minnesota artists installed in public places.
Hubby would like to see the arts fully funded within our schools. Barring that, he would like to see the Perpich Center for the Arts expanded to include other satellite locations throughout the state so that students from northern Minnesota don’t have to travel so far to take advantage of this opportunity.
I would like to set an audacious goal. Why not make Minnesota the #1 haven for artists in the United States? On the history front, I’d like to see as much respect afforded to smaller historical organizations as is afforded to the Minnesota Historical Society. We’re all doing the same work, after all, just on a different scale. As for cultural heritage, I would like to have our state’s citizens recognize that our diversity is much more diverse than the questions we have to fill out concerning this on our government forms.
Developing a set of guiding principles.
As you look out at your 25 year vision and all the options to choose from, what fundamental assumptions should guide how the money should be spent?
The arts, history and cultural heritage are all important to the state and one area should not be significantly more supported than another. There should be transparency in how this tax money is spent througout the 25 years.
The money should be spend throughout the state, without unfairly supporting high population areas. There should be representation from all of the economic development regions in the state reviewing how this money is spent.
Currently, between the Historic Resources Advisory Committee (HRAC) and the Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund Committee, there are 13 representatives from Region 11 and 12 representatives from only five other development regions in the state. There are seven economic development regions without any representation whatsoever on either committee. There needs to be regular turnover on the HRAC, with people from other geographic regions being given a chance to serve.
There should be opportunities for people of all ages and cultural groups to participate in projects supported with Legacy Amendment funds. We shouldn’t concentrate on just kids or seniors or some other limited group.
Legacy Amendment funds should not be used to spin organizations off their missions. I attended a library meeting discussing the use of Legacy funds and those leading the meeting let us know that the funds were not to be used for typical library activities, like book groups. Instead, libraries were being pushed to come up with new activities related to the arts, history and culture. One suggestion was that the library should bring the symphony to town. Being as how our area already has a symphony, school bands, a music center, and an arts center that brings in musicians, what would be the purpose in the library serving this need? This is a case of money pushing an organization’s mission in an unintended direction. Is this what voters intended when they voted for the Legacy Amendment? (Not this voter.)
On a related note, during every Legacy Amendment meeting I’ve attended (four of them), a phrase used by Rep. Mary Murphy has been invoked. She gave the arts, history and cultural heritage community the directive that whatever was funded had to have “Wow! factor.” To date, “Wow! factor” has not been defined, which means that people are left scratching their heads. New boxes for packing artifacts may meet the “Wow! factor” for a museum, but look terribly boring to a legislator. I did not vote for “Wow! factor” and it does not appear anywhere in the Legacy Amendment. Could we please stop getting stuck on this phrase or, at the very least, ask for a definition?
Finally, we need to remain flexible with the Legacy Amendment and be able to redefine aspects of this vague-in-places legislation as we move through time. After all, a lot can change in 25 years. We were wearing leg warmers as a fashion statement in 1984, but I haven’t seen a whole lot of those around lately.
10 year goals.
What specific goals/results should we aim to achieve over the next 10 years?
Personally, I thought this question should come before the previous one in the survey, so by 10 years I think we ought to have made significant progress on our 25-year goals. Public opinion on the economic viability of the arts, history and cultural heritage should be starting to sway in a positive direction, with the public beginning to be proud of what the state has to offer along these lines.
I’d also like to see attitudes shift regarding how much those in the arts, history and cultural heritage organizations deserve to be paid. Employees in these fields have as much expertise as those in traditional businesses, so it should be a given that they deserve, and should receive, a living wage, rather than being expected to “suffer” for their “art.”
In regards to the history field, by the 10-year mark, it would be nice to compare the state’s overall progress in preservation to the nationwide Heritage Health Index to see how we stack up.
By the 10-year mark, I’d also like to have a good idea of what the Minnesota Humanities Center does. While I can easily tell you what the Minnesota State Arts Board and Minnesota Historical Society do, I’m drawing a blank with MHC.
In 2020 what needs to be true? What do we need to have accomplished by 2020 related to arts, history and cultural heritage in MN?
Is it just me, or is this a repeat of the last question?
Definitions of Arts, History and Cultural Heritage.
There are a number of opinions as to what is in or out of the arts, history and cultural heritage “box.” Article XI, section 15 of the Minnesota constitution states that “19.75 percent [of the sales tax dedicated funds] shall be deposited in the arts and cultural heritage fund and may be spent only for arts, arts education, and arts access and to preserve Minnesota’s history and cultural heritage.” What do you think should be eligible for the arts, history and cultural heritage funding and what should not be eligible?
This question sounds like Heidi Klum from Project Runway. “Either you are in, or you are out!” (For best effect, say this with a German accent.) Taking off on the Project Runway theme, Hubby thought that everything eligible ought to be “FIERCE,” although that’s as ill-defined as “Wow! factor.” And herein lies the problem with this entire question and the next one:
What are examples of what you see as in and out of the arts, history and cultural heritage box?
We need definitions of art, history and cultural heritage. Entire college courses could be devoted to the definition of art and we still wouldn’t come to a solid conclusion. History might be easier to define in that it refers to anything that has happened in the past, but is everything from the past worth saving? Cultural heritage is not much better. Which culture’s heritage do we want to celebrate? A broad, homogenous culture, or the gazillions of sub-cultures that make up Minnesota? Can a GLBT group ask for funding based on its cultural heritage? What about a motorcycle club?
While I’m all for supporting the widest definitions of these fields as possible, there are plenty of people who will complain that any funding at all is being spent on this frivolousness. They’ll be mad that the money isn’t going directly into their pockets. No matter how it’s spent, we need to prove that there is a benefit, even if that benefit is wider and more general in relation to the state, rather than specific to a particular individual.
I realize that I haven’t really answered these final questions, and I don’t think that I can. I would, however, like to make the questions even more complicated by asking, “Should any of this Legacy Amendment funding be used to help artists, historians, or cultural heritage peeps make a profit?”
Before a resounding “NO!” is thrown in my face, tell me, what is tax increment financing if not a mechanism that encourages businesses to make money by forestalling the payment of taxes? No one needs to play sports, yet we entertain subsidizing the construction of new stadiums every few years. We need to show that the Legacy Amendment money we use towards the arts, history and cultural heritage is a good investment for the return they bring to Minnesota’s economy, no matter which specific arts, history or cultural heritage projects are funded.
’nuff said.
You’re channel-surfing. There isn’t a whole lot on television that you really want to watch, but suddenly you come across a movie that you’ve seen at least 52 billion times. Rather than turn off the TV and do something else, the nature of the movie is such that it sucks you in. Doesn’t matter where you catch the movie along its plot line, you’re hooked.
That happened to me this weekend with Adam Sandler’s “The Wedding Singer.” I can’t deny the appeal of the movie’s 1980’s theme, complete with music and clothing of the era. I was a teenager then. Daughter asked if we really dressed that way, insinuating that we were peculiar for doing so. Yes. We really dressed that way, plus we overdid it with the hairspray in order to achieve our big hair.
It’s not simply nostalgia, though, that sucks me into particular movies. I can’t always put my finger on what precisely draws me in repeatedly. Rather than try to figure it out, Hubby, Daughter and I put together a list of movies that insist we watch them over and over.
The Wedding Singer
Any of the Legally Blonde movies
Miss Congeniality
The Princess Bride
Rambo: First Blood (not so much me, but Hubby and Young Son are addicted)
Shaun of the Dead
Airplane (also not one of my favorites, but Hubby can’t resist)
Not Another Teen Movie
Pretty much any James Bond movie
Any in the Pirates of the Carribean series
Any in the Harry Potter series
The Shawshank Redemption
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Psycho
Monty Python’s Meaning of Life & Life of Brian
Down with Love (one of my favorites, particularly for the fashion)
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
The Hudsucker Proxy
Indiana Jones movies (only the 1st and 3rd for me, don’t care for the 2nd)
National Treasure
Sister Act
Your turn. What movies suck you in over and over again? Do you know why they have this effect?
Wham-a-lamma-ding-dong, baby, my blog stats tanked over the last couple of days. Everyone must have been as busy as I was. Either that or esoteric discussions of khipu appeal to very few peeps.
So, just what have I been up to these past few days? On Thursday, Hubby and I attended the funeral of our brother-in-law’s mother. The funeral took place in a gorgeous Catholic church done in a Romanesque architectural style, complete with vaulted ceiling and columns that looked like a cross between Corinthian and Ionic. I’ve always been impressed with Catholic statuary and art. This church had a number of fine statues, plus a Black Madonna, direct from Poland, I believe.
Because of the space and construction of the church, the acoustics in the church are great. Our brother-in-law served as cantor for the funeral and we had a rare opportunity to hear his beautiful voice. When he sang for our wedding some two decades ago, he did so with a couple of other family members, so this was the first time I’d ever heard him sing solo.
In the late afternoon, when Young Son returned from school, he and Hubby took off on a trip to my sister’s so they could go deer hunting. One of Hubby’s sisters decided to stay for a couple of days after the funeral because of her long drive. She and I hung out most of the time she was here, with her staying over night at our house because we had empty beds.
Thursday evening we went to visit another of Hubby’s sisters (Hubby has three sisters) and we had a late supper at Famous Dave’s. Daughter couldn’t go with us for this outing because she had band practice.
When we returned, we found Daughter in the middle of making “faux mousse” for a class the next day. Faux mousse is simply chocolate pudding mixed with Cool Whip. Strangely, only about two people in her class had ever heard of mousse, let alone faux mousse, which tends to be a staple on restaurant buffets. Everybody liked it though and the gigantic mixing bowl came back empty after school on Friday.
While Daughter was introducing classmates to faux mousse, my sister-in-law, her parents and I went to St. Cloud. The parents had a meeting to attend and my sister-in-law’s car needed an oil change. After her car was serviced, we went to Bonnie’s Spinning Wheel, a local yarn shop that is filled to the rafters with luscious skeins of every conceivable color and fiber. I picked some out as a birthday gift to my other sister-in-law (the one we had visited the previous night).
After retrieving the parents, we ran a couple of other errands, then headed home to pick up Daughter, who was home from school. We had dinner at Perkin’s, where I ate pot roast that was to die for.
On Saturday morning, my sister-in-law left. She wanted to get an early start on her long drive home. I caught up on dishes and started the laundry. In the afternoon, Daughter and I got a ride from Hubby’s parents to the birthday party for his sister. (Are you keeping track of the sisters/sisters-in-law in this post? It’s hard for me to keep this general, but clear.)
As we approached my sister-in-law’s house, Daughter said, “Are the boys here?” I thought she was talking about my nephews, but it turns out she was talking about Hubby and Young Son. We didn’t expect them back from hunting until Sunday, but sure enough, the car they had taken was in the driveway. Woohoo! They were home early!
We had a lovely birthday party, complete with Dairy Queen cake and a meal of grilled chicken, Caesar salad and garlic toast. I mention the food because within these past few days, starting with the post-funeral meal, I have eaten more food than I thought was humanly possible and it was all delicious.
Visiting and eating. That’s what’s been going on in my life.
New notebook
Blank notebook pages
Don’t you just love a new blank notebook?
The preparation of my floor loom for action and my questions about different methods of human communication have brought me back to investigating khipu (quipu), an Inkan system of knotted cords that have yet to be fully deciphered.
I downloaded a bunch of articles on khipu yesterday and read through them this morning. The articles led to numerous questions. Admittedly, these are the questions of a novice, but asking questions is a good way to seek answers, so here goes.
1) 24 colors have been found within the existing khipu in the world. What are the colors? What sources were used to produce them? Where were the sources found?
2) Could something about the color have indicated a particular place or object? What about the combination of 2 or more colors?
3) Did men and/or women make khipu?
4) Was a loom or frame or some other device used to make them, or were they completely handmade?
5) How were khipu traditionally stored? (I look at one and think they’d be a horrible mess to untangle.)
6) When khipu are displayed, they are shown arranged in a circle or stretched horizontally. How did the khipukamayuq (knot readers) arrange them for reading? Did they read from left to right or right to left? Was the main string placed at the top or bottom? Were they read in a circular manner, with the arrangement signifying something like place?
7) Is some element of the khipu related to compass direction?
8 ) Are there “signatures” on any of the khipu? Some sort of element that identifies an individual khipukamayuq?
9) Many of the existing khipu appear to have been used for accounting purposes. Accounting can be fudged so that a company’s financial statements appear to be more favorable than they actually are. Could the khipukamayuq have fudged their khipu for personal gain?
10) Were khipu ever worn by people? Or were they like rosaries?
11) Musical notation indicates sounds and rhythm. Could khipu represent these things?
12) If I wanted to create a language out of string, how would I go about it?
I’ve found more online sources that have answered a few of my questions. Here are a couple of longer explanatory articles:
Khipu Accounting in Ancient Peru by Gary Urton & Carrie J. Brezine
The resource that’s going to take the most examination is the Khipu Database Project based out of Harvard and led by Urton and Brezine, authors of the articles mentioned above. The site includes pictures of known khipu and an analysis of the structures of many khipu in the hopes that patterns can be found so this knot language can be interpreted.
How Fiction Works by James Wood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Wood’s language usage feels old-school to me. Had to reread passages to understand what he was getting at. He makes many useful observations about fiction (particularly about conventions in fiction) that are helpful to writers. Wood makes many references to classic literature and shows how earlier writers influenced later writers. My hangup is that I haven’t read most of the literature he discusses. [Sad day!:]
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a quiet story with an apt title. The writing is superb. Roth makes you care about this ordinary man while also keeping you at some remove from him.
I’ve been thinking about the different ways human beings tell stories. I started a list, basing it on our senses.
Visual – painting, drawing, fiber arts, signs, movies/videos, writing (nonfiction, fiction, poetry, etc.), digital (internet, mobile devices, etc.), smoke signals, flag signals, maps, doppler maps, theater, objects (exhibits), sign language, cards (tarot, playing cards, etc.), tattoos, hieroglyphics, petroglyphs, cuneiform, numbers, alphabets, text messaging
Auditory – speech, recordings (audiobooks, podcasts, albums, etc.), music/song, rhythm, Morse code, radar/echo-location, movies/videos
Kinesthetic/Touch – dance, body language (gestures), sign language, braille, sculpture, sex, khipu
Smell – scratch-n-sniff stickers (Can we tell stories through smell?)
Taste – Babies put things in their mouths.
By the time I got to the end, it had turned into a list of the different ways we communicate with each other. (Anyone got ideas about how we communicate via smell and taste?)
This list led to several questions:
1) If a person was alone, would there be any need to communicate? With one’s self, perhaps?
2) If a person never learned language, what sort of thoughts would form? Would they be structured in any way, or just a series of sense impressions?
3) Why is so much of communication visual? (I think I can surmise the answer to this question.)
Along with questions, the list led to some observations.
1) There are two parts (at least) to communication: the content that’s being communicated and the vehicle for communicating that content. (I guess it would also help if there was someone on the receiving end of the communication.)
2) We have highly visual languages built of characters/lines/drawings, etc. These visual languages tend to be complex.
3) When it comes to auditory and kinesthetic languages, they tend to be reduced, compacted into limited symbols that can be recombined in infinite ways.
These are the first things I thought about my list, but they are by no means definitive. I’ve got a lot more thinking to do about the subject. In the meantime, I’ve added several links to my sidebar that refer to some of the languages that most of us don’t typically use. Some of the links are for translators, so you can have fun seeing how our standard written language is transformed into Morse code or braille or semaphore.
Before I head to work in the mornings, I plop down in front of the telly and catch me some VH1 videos while munching my bran flakes. Lately Morningwood’s video for “Best of Me” has been getting a lot of airplay. Every time I see the video, I have an overwhelming desire to pair singer Chantal Claret with Meat Loaf. She seems to have an air of rock opera about her that reminds me of Meat Loaf.
