To Which Sphere Does Public Art Belong?

Who Are Its Patrons? What Is Art's Public Function? Who Will Be Our "Ministers of Culture"? 

Luann Jennings discusses spiritual reflections on the public patronage of the arts: (from her article "A Minster of Culture" in Cardus, the website for Comment magazine, July 24, 2009) 

"That so many elected American federal government officials saw museums and theaters as comparable to golf courses and casinos reveals a lot about how the United States federal government views the purposes and value of the arts in American society. A government's stance on the arts and culture, the government's role in them, and how (and whether) it will support and advocate for them is its cultural policy. Although 'culture' in this context rarely refers solely to the arts—it could include libraries, heritage, historical preservation, language, even religion—the arts are a significant portion of what most governments mean by 'culture.'

"Every country has a cultural policy—even if it's implied through omission rather than implemented by decision—but different countries actively engage with and stimulate the arts differently, or more, than others. Generally, government involvement entails a mix of provision of direct financial support, advocacy through government agencies and passage of laws, and indirect types of support through other mechanisms that eventually benefit the arts ...

"... [M]ost Western European (and many other) countries ... have a cabinet-level 'Ministry of Culture' ... The use of the term 'ministry' to designate government agencies and departments is an interesting confluence for the Christian—the word 'minister' was originally used in English to mean 'servant,' and it came to be used to describe either a public servant or a religious servant. ...

"[I]t is in the 'instrumental vs. intrinsic' dialogue that the Christian has an advantage over the secular person. The Protestant church has developed an interest in the arts in recent years, mostly because of its intrinsic value. Some creative expressions made by Christians have the instrumental goal of evangelism or teaching, and, in fact, it was largely for these purposes that the modern church's interest in the arts awakened. Most of the church in time, though, came to recognize that the benefits of the arts were larger than their instrumental value. The creations of a divinity intrinsically have value, and, we can surmise, the creations of the creations of a divinity intrinsically have value. They do not need to make money, increase test scores or save souls to be worthwhile.

"The idea of 'meaning-making' is frequently connected with spirituality, and Christians can talk about the spiritual dimensions of the arts, and advocate for them, in ways a government agency bounded by 'separation of church and state' cannot and a secular artist or arts organization will not ...

"If Christians can become true patrons and take upon themselves the goal to 'father' the intrinsic, meaning-making benefits of art and the people who create it, perhaps, then, the best 'ministers (servants) of culture' will not be the ones in government offices. " Click here to read the entire article.  Click here to respond to this article once you have read it.