Summary Of Some Thoughts About Art, America, And Jumping Off The Cliff

Established in 1965 by Congress, the National Endowment for the Arts was created in order to promote education in the arts and celebrate the cultural diversity of American heritage with equal access to all citizens. Throughout its years, the NEA has hadgiven many fellowships withto deserving artists, and presented pieces, whether musical or artistic, to cities across the country. Yyet in 1990, there was lobbying to completely eliminate the funding for this federal agency. To speak against this, American composer, Meredith Monk, addresses the public in her speech, “Some Thoughts About Art, America, and Jumping off the Cliff.” The musical artist is a composer, singer, director/choreographer and creator of new opera, music-theater works, films
Utilizing her professional background in the music world, Monk automatically becomes a figure of authority in this field. “I often go on tour as a ‘cultural ambassador’ representing the United States in festivals and concert halls in countries…” (Monk) By consciously allowing the audience insight into her life and her experiences within the world that is threatened by funding cuts, the author demonstrates a sense of knowledge in the subject that readers can rely on to persuade them. “What I am always struck by when I return to the United States after having been away for a while is the misguided perception ( nor non-perception) of art as a marginal concern in our contemporary life.” (Monk) Here further on in the text, Monk takes her personal adventures and proposes a stark juxtaposition between the mindset of Americans and those in other countries. By stating how lacking Americans are in their consideration of the arts in their daily lives, it provokes her audience (of Americans) to reevaluate their thought process in this matter. Prompting her audience in this fashion strongly aids her argument because it engages the listeners and furthermore gains their attention. Evidently with her utilization of her personal background, Meredith Monk identifies readers with her cause in a successful
She goes on to state, “If you don’t know what you are missing, you don’t know that you miss it. It is important that future generations can still partake of the process and the riches of art.” (Monk) Monk’s emotional appeal is directed to sway the audience member’s emotions and uses the manipulation of the recipient’s emotions rather than valid logic to win an argument. An emotional appeal uses emotions as the basis of an argument’s position without factual evidence that logically supports the major ideas endorsed by the presenter. Meredith Monk never presents any basis of factual evidence throughout her speech, instead here she preys upon the needs of older generations to give their young the best opportunities they can offer. Art, as Monk presents it, is full of culture and history; it essentially is a visual recollection of the times people have experience. What person would not want to protect those memories? Fully conscious of her audience’s sentimental attachment toof art, the author here convincingly defends the importance of art and its