Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Of course they learned the wrong lesson

Editorial in the Oregonian today about a dragon sculpture in Chinatown, paid for with $20,000 in public funds. It seems that a bunch of folks in the Chinese community find the sculpture culturally offensive.

They think the scultpure "demeans" the dragon, because it appears to be being choked by a metal collar, and there is an upside down wok somewhere on it.

The "Regional Arts and Culture Council" commissioned the work, and they did all the usual design review before approving it, so they are pretty surprised by the uproar.

The the lesson is obvious, says the Oregonian. They need more Chinese Americans involved in the design.

WRONG LESSON!

No, the lesson is that Government should not fund art. If the Chinese American community wants to put a sculpture of a dragon in Chinatown, be my guest. But government has no business funding art.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

There is great wisdom in what you say, Grasshopper.