On Fri, 1 Jun 2001, Alex Morken wrote:
quoted 5 lines Mr. Hawtin, allow me to introduce you to capitalism. Capitalism, Mr.> >Mr. Hawtin, allow me to introduce you to capitalism. Capitalism, Mr.
> >Hawtin. No, the pleasure is mine.
>
> Who said he agreed with capitalism?
>
If you saw how nice Richie's shoes are, you'd know that he's no enemy
of capitalism. But that's really beside the point. Richie is a really
smart businessman, and his success as a capitalist enables him to
spend the money on his art.
Carl Craig is an artist, and a capitalist as well. And a fan of
quality footwear.
The whole controversy over Craig's firing arises from an intense difference
of opinion between Carol Marvin of Pop Culture, and Mr. Craig about the
direction of the festival. Mr. Craig collaborated willingly with the
corporate sponsors of DEMF, and to their credit, the corporate sponsors
were willing to give him a free hand to determine the artistic content
of the festival.
The result was stunning, at least to me -- Almost without exception
the artist line-up was chosen for artistic qualities over aboveground
commercial appeal. What's more, something like 1.5 million people of
all ages, races, and fashion sense were exposed to amazing music -- some
for the very first time.
Logistical problems were few -- the worst being the crush in the Underground
stage for Autechre. As far as I know there were fewer arrests than would
be expected for any crowd of that size. In Detroit, at least, the distinction
between the music and the scarier aspects of rave culture were made crystal
clear.
The complete invisibility of Pop Culture and Carol at the event, the
ubiquitous signs of support for Craig, and the pointed statements from
the Mayor's office recognizing Craig's contribution, all make for
a moral victory at least.
Keep this in mind: this was a free event, comparable in size to the
last Woodstock where everything ran smoothly and everyone went home
safe and happy. and we all know what happened at the last Woodstock!
Capitalism works best when it's balanced by a sense of Communitarianism --
where the urge for personal gain is balanced by altruism. When greed
holds sway everyone suffers, and when no one is taking care of business,
everybody suffers. When there's a synergy between Capital and
Community, both can prosper, and DEMF 2001 proved this to a fare-thee-well.
As for capital A Art and Capitalism, a similar balance has to exist.
Not all art can be made in the shed out back for free. Sometimes the
scale of the project requires big money, and there's no other option
than to cooperate with the people who cut the checks. It's not
necessarily a bad thing -- corporate patronage is all that keeps symphony
orchestras playing in this country, and no one complains about that.
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