Tram Town
Monday, June 11, 2007
| Category: Confusion There are some things that I can make sense of and some that I can't. Slatts pointed me at a decent chunk of common sense in today's Oz editorial. You need to read the whole thing but I will quote an example paragraph: It is hard to reconcile these objective facts with the commentary taking place in the parallel universe inhabited by disaffected intellectuals who insist that critics are gagged in the gulag they like to call "John Howard's Australia". In his contribution to Silencing Dissent, Robert Manne claimed the nation was headed on "the increasingly authoritarian trajectory of the political culture" under Mr Howard.The entire editorial makes sense. Soon thereafter I encountered an article by Jill Singer in the small paper where she tries to convey her experiences of the 52nd Venice Biennale of Art. Can anyone explain to me in terms that a non-intellectual like myself can understand what the hell her point is? In amongst it all she says: The subject of our pavilion is way off the Government's radar, hardly surprising when you consider Australia doesn't even have an arts policy.I'm personally not concerned about the lack of an arts policy (if such a shortfall really exists), in fact, I'm quite happy with government having no policy regarding the arts. In fact there are quite a few "sectors" that I would prefer government to steer clear of. Just One Guy's Opinion™. |
