Gabrielle Faust

A few thoughts on jobs for artists in America…

I’ve been pondering a few uncomfortable questions since watching President Obama’s third State of the Union speech last night on KLRU. I must admit that it was a stunningly crafted speech, thoroughly moving and exquisitely written. That said, there was one point that struck me in an off-key way. This was the topic of job creation in America. As an artist and author I have had my fair share of extreme struggles over the past couple of years since the epic tanking of the American economy. Watching my country dissolve beneath the weight of the most horrific economic collapse since the Great Depression was an experience which left millions of us traumatized and, still to this day, skittish and wary about any and all promises or declarations made by politicians. Many of my peers lost everything in the crash and are struggling to recover their livelihoods in a world where putting food on the table is still chosen over art. Am I to condemn anyone for that, of course not! If eating oil paints didn’t erode your brain and make you cut your ear off (thank you Van Gogh) there might be an exception. However, it leaves the artists, authors and musicians of the world in a precarious place where we find ourselves fighting harder than ever to preserve our positions as the pillars of culture in a society that is drowning with the daily fears of becoming homeless or worse. Our beloved President talked a good talk last night about job creation, about investing in programs to train able-bodied workers to fill positions and creating millions of jobs where none existed before. This sounds perfect in theory. Read the rest of this post at http://www.gabriellefaust.com/archives/6184