Obama to Promote a New Cultural Order

Barack Obama has already started using culture to promote his policies.
In the near future, he will also implement a revolutionary program to support the arts.

When Itzhak Perlman agreed to play at President Barack Obama's inaugural ceremony, the last thing he intended to do was enter American politics. But in a certain way, that’s exactly what he did.

The instrumental quartet of which he was a member was prepared by composer John Williams, inspired by a much older American melody. “Appalachian Spring,” the 1944 masterpiece written by the Jewish composer Aaron Copland, tells the story of a young pioneer couple who head out West to face all of nature’s might, with hopes of building a new life.

It was not a coincidental choice. It is the story of conquering the West, and in fact, the story of America. This is also the story Obama decided to tell in his inauguration. Mainly referencing the economic crisis in his speech, Obama called Americans to gather faith from their past and rise above themselves, like they have done before, especially in times of hardship. But he did not do this alone. Perlman and his friends prepared the ground for him. The story telling they began with the use of music, while Obama finished with the use of words.

Incorporating Perlman and his friends in the new president’s message of hope was no surprise. Obama, undoubtedly one of the most educated presidents America has seen, knows very well the integral connection between politics and culture, and is now looking to use that connection to rescue the nation from crisis.

Bill Ivey, the former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, and senior cultural advisor in Obama's transition team, claims there was never an administration that saw the arts as a way to promote state policies, but that this administration will
be different.

All the signs indicate that Ivy is right. Based on his rhetoric and the decisions made so far, Obama has proven that he is not neglecting cultural life in his plans to rehabilitate America. “A Platform in Support of the Arts,” revealed during his election
campaign, was described by many as revolutionary.

Among the initiatives he committed to are increased funding for the NEA, creation of “artist corps” that will be sent to schools across the country in order to promote art education among teenagers and strengthen the ties between public establishments
and artists. Obama also talked about “cultural ambassadors”- artists that will help improve America’s ailing international image.

These very days, the Congress is due to approve a governmental initiative to increase the budget of the National Endowment for the Arts by tens of millions of dollars. The “New York Times” reported that the government is considering establishing an arts and culture desk in the White House.

From all presidents that precede him, it seems Obama has been influenced mostly by Franklin Roosevelt, stating at various times he wishes to reestablish, at least partially, the famous “New Deal” policy. Many hope Obama will also follow Roosevelt's steps by restoring the national economy not at the expense of cultural growth, but rather with its help.

In 1935, Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration (WPA) which was in charge of, among other things, providing art subsidies and artists’ income. It was without a doubt one of the most creatively fertile periods America has known: tens of thousands of artists from all fields were employed by the government and produced more than one hundred thousand visual art pieces, thousands of books and numerous musical recordings.

In addition, the government established hundreds of music groups, choirs and public orchestras. It built and subsidized art galleries, theaters and museums all over the United States. Within the framework of these rehabilitation programs initiated by the government, many of the greatest American artists were able to gain public recognition. The author Saul Bellow began his career cataloging public libraries in the state of Illinois.

The masters of abstract expressionism Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko initially dipped their brushes in the service of the public, focusing on public murals and pastoral portraits of American landscape. Orson Welles, the greatest director and actor of the time, won a name for himself in the Shakespearean play “Macbeth,” produced by a national theater company.

Roosevelt understood the dual benefit of restoring cultural life in times of economic crisis: the state helps artists make a living, while using their talent to help the state. Judging by his statements thus far, it seems Obama shares this belief. The only question is whether he will execute it successfully.