Page 12 RAIN May 1980 i TAKIN' TO THE STREETS Jim Williams mentions in his article the "long-standing social bias [in this country] that somehow cultural work is not legitimate, valid, or essential in relationship to all other forms of work." Where does this bias come from? To my mind, the prices and pretentiousness that govern the accessibility of many (especially II fine") art mediums have more to do with people's appreciation of cultural work than any supposed esotericness of the art forms themselves. In part to test this notion, several years ago I founded and played with Boston's first organized classical street musicians. Known as the Street Quartet (two violins, a viola and a cello), our purpose was to present free, informal and reasonably polished performances of Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, etc. on streetcorners and public plazas. With the exception of the police, who harassed us kindly but regularly, the city responded with enthusiasm. Four or five sweltering, humid days each summer week the Street Quartet would perform 2-3 hours of free classical music above the din of construction and traffic. Our listeners-construction workers, shoppers, taxi drivers, secretaries, tourists, bums, grandparents, children and people of color in an otherwise racially tense town-were the most nonsectarian audience ever gathered. People who'd never seen a violin or a cello before were invited to touch them, see how the wood was carved along the grain, discover that they don't have frets, or perhaps try drawing a bow across a string. An elderly gentleman who hadn't played violin since high school agreed to sit down with us and give it a try. Sometimes passing musicians would hop off the bus to pull out their instrum·ents and join us. We soon developed quite a following around town, including frequent media coverage. But the response that gave us the most satisfaction was the response on the street, the people's faces. The blank, harsh, me-against-the-world expressions gave way to joyous smiles of community and solidarity. Total strangers became friends. As we work toward decentralization and community self-reliance, it would be wise to consider the arts in these terms as well. Not only do they serve local pride and stimulate local economies, the arts are also job-creative and ecologically enhancing. Ironically, in my experience, the first official recognition of this tidbit of wisdom came from the state rather than the city. Our second season we were awarded a substantial matching grant from the Massachusetts Council on the Arts and Humanities. Even so, it was another two or three years before the city embraced the concept (by blessing and advertising music in the subways) and then, without financial support. It's time for cities across the country to take an active role in arts support, to establish the arts by public, city ordinance (as some cities have) as "an essential city service, equal to all other essential city services." -MR ~ ~ ~ ~
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