[Nettime-bold] Re: <nettime> BUSH ANNOUNCES US DEPT. OF ART & TECHNOLOGY

[Digital Cutup Lounge <johnvon@digitalcutuplounge.com>]

Can anyone else confirm or deny the authenticity of this message?

John

--
John von Seggern
DJ/producer/bassist
Digital Cutup Lounge

http://www.digitalcutuplounge.com


> US Department of Art & Technology
> Washington, DC
> http://www.usdept-arttech.net
> press@usdept-arttech.net
>
> Press Secretary
> For Immediate Release: November 6, 2001
>
> PRESIDENT BUSH ANNOUNCES EXECUTIVE ORDER
> US DEPARTMENT OF ART & TECHNOLOGY
> NEW ARTIST-BASED INITIATIVE
>
> I take great joy in making this announcement. It's going to be one of
> the most important initiatives that my administration not only
> discusses, but implements.
>
> This is a collection of some of the finest America has got to offer
> -- artists who create with their hearts, and in turn, have changed
> the communities in which they live for the better. This is a great
> example of the strength and diversity and compassion of our country.
>
> This is a diverse group, but who share things in common. They provide
> more than aesthetic appeal to the people of our country. They touch
> and change hearts.  And for this, America is deeply appreciative,
> particularly in these times of crisis.
>
> Everyone in this room knows firsthand that there are still deep needs
> in society that are confronted by America's artists who have brought
> technology into their work. Problems like cyber-addiction and
> abandonment, pornographic violence, mental illness, loss of identity
> through the mediation of reality, and now, the threat of terrorist
> activity across the heartland. We are called by conscience to respond.
>
> As I said in my inaugural address, compassion is the work of a
> nation, not just a government. It is more than the calling of
> politicians; it is the calling of artists.  It is artists who turn
> mean streets into good neighborhoods. It is artists who turn cold
> cities into real communities.
>
> It is one of the great goals of my administration to invigorate the
> spirit of involvement and cultural engagement. We will encourage
> artist-based community programs without changing their mission. We
> will help all in their work to change hearts while keeping a
> commitment to freedom of expression.
>
> I approach this goal with some basic principles: Government has
> important responsibilities to the social condition and the spiritual
> growth of the individual. Yet when we see social needs in America, my
> administration will look first to artist-based programs, which have
> proven their power to transform lives. When artists provide insight
> into the cultural impact of emerging new technologies, we will
> support them.
>
> As long as there are cultural needs, artist-based organizations
> should be able to compete for funding on an equal basis, and in a
> manner that does not cause them to sacrifice their mission. And we
> will make sure that help goes to large organizations and to small
> ones as well. We value large organizations with generations of
> experience. We also value community artists, who have only the scars
> of being on the wrong side of the digital divide.
>
> Today I am turning these principles into a legislative agenda.  I am
> sending to Congress a series of ideas and proposals.  Today, in time
> of war, I want to raise the priority and profile of these issues
> within my own administration. I want to ensure that artists and
> artist-based organizations will always have a place at the table in
> our deliberations.
>
> In a few moments, I will sign an executive order. This order will
> create a new government agency, the United States Department of Art
> and Technology. The Secretary of this office will report directly to
> me and be charged with important responsibilities.  He will oversee
> our initiatives on this issue. He will make sure our government,
> where it works with the arts, is fair and supportive. And he will
> highlight artists who have engaged technology in their work and are
> confronting issues critical to our understanding of new technologies
> and their cultural implications as national models so others can
> learn from them. For as British artist Wyndham Lewis articulated  so
> well: "The artist is always engaged in writing a detailed history of
> the future because he is the only person aware of the nature of the
> present."
>
> And now it is my honor to sign the executive order. (Applause.)
>
> ##
>
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