February 5, 2005
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Defining the Wind
Matt often makes fun of the National Endowment for the Arts. I think it’s a nice idea in theory.
But, to me, stretching leather to completely cover a Volkswagon Beetle is not art. It’s a waste of good leather.
Some of the best art I’ve seen is by people who aren’t “artists” by trade (and weren’t supported by grants from the NEA). Not everyone probably agrees with my definition of the word “art.” (Matt and I had an argument the other day over the meaning of the word “literacy.”) I see no need to use my taxes to fund people who have a different definition of the word, especially when people who are making my kind of art don’t need funding.
Welding farm equipment into a decorative fence. Taking a bunch of words and using them in a particular sequence to create “Prince of Persia,” “Splinter Cell” or “Zelda.” Using a stationary object with strings and an echo chamber to create a tune. Using silver nitrate on plastic strips to make images from electromagnetic waves. Making four plastic kitty litter buckets into a sled because it’s snowing and one doesn’t have a garbage can lid. Making the perfect pizza with all the toppings one wants, some herbed pan bread on the side, and a Brandy Alexander. (Matt, please pick up some brandy on the way home.)
Defining the Wind : The Beaufort Scale, and How a
19th-Century Admiral Turned Science into Poetry
by SCOTT HULER
