Foyle's War

I am thrilled as punch to see that the excellent British WWII murder mystery series Foyle's War is still being broadcast, even though WWII ended last season. The episode I'm watching is notable because the B plot is centered around urban design rebuilding Hastings in the wake of the destruction in the war.

It's really a testament to the power of dramatic action over simply talking about things that any person could really easily follow the merits and drawbacks of urban planning, if the interests and forces are embodied as compelling characters trying to live their lives.

Parks Commissioner Benepe

Two stories about Parks Commissioner Benepe and the arts have crossed my table in the last couple of weeks.

The first is about Benepe's move to limit the number of artist vendors in the parks:

The proposed regulations would cap the number of vendors of “materials or objects with expressive content, such as newspapers, books, or writings, or visual art such as paintings, prints, photography, or sculpture,” in congested areas of specific parks. Vendors would be limited to designated spots apportioned on a first-come-first-served basis. The rules specify the dimensions of a seller’s table and the table’s proximity to public property like benches, transit stops and monuments.

(...)

Robert Lederman, a longtime and oft-quoted street artist, vendor and the founder of A.R.T.I.S.T., an advocacy group with roughly 2,000 members, has won many lawsuits against the city on behalf of art vendors. Mr. Lederman said that he did not believe art stands were overrunning the parks, but instead blamed a glut of illegal vendors. He was also critical of corporate events and scheduled activities like the greenmarket in Union Square.

“The congestion is not being caused by ‘expressive material vendors,’ a term that I hate,” Mr. Lederman said. “The parks department has allowed hundreds of people to illegally vend in the parks without using the vending rules to police them, so why would you invent strange new laws when you could use those laws to get rid of the illegal vendors?”

That's one story. The other comes from WNYC's Sound Check, which hosted a discussion between Benepe and Arline Bronzaft, chair and host of the Noise Committee of the Mayor's Council on the Environment. One of the issues brought up is the street performers and musicians who can sometimes create noise, or the city-sponsored concerts.

Both revolve around the role of public spaces, and the role of artists in those public spaces. When we perform in public, are we an intrusion on the quiet and peace of those who go to the park to relax? Or are we an enriching cultural experience?

There's a balance to be kept to on both sides -- I don't doubt Benepe's assertion that the primary use of parks is those people who go there to do nothing, and have peace and quiet, but I also agree with the host, who says that Prospect Park's life comes from all of the pickup games that go on there (including games of Circle Rules Football, Sundays at 2PM).

The real point, which is why I wrote this post, is that artists should be conscious of these debates that are going on about public space usage, because it effects us -- not just those who want to busk or hold public performances in Washington Square Park, but it's the place where artists cross paths in the public discussion with the non-artist community.

Quantifying The Health Of Arts Communities

Sparked on by the report that <100K posted, I've been interested in putting together a method of quantifying the arts community. At the time I assumed it was a tall order because I'm not an urban studies major, or a sociologist, or anything that would give me the academic background necessary. But of course, the only way to really get that background is just to JUMP IN, feet first.

So I did, beginning with a little tweet to the world, asking if anyone else was involved in this.

Ian David Moss, over at Createquity.com, informs me that I'm a little late to the game, because there is a lot of raw research to look at. But there's still a lot of work to be done, and the final quantitative analysis (he called it the "holy grail") is still elusive.

He was very helpful and tossed me a number of resources, so my next step will be analyzing not only the report from <100k, but also the sources he gave me, and of course the groundbreaking work by Richard Florida on the Creative Class. I will, of course, share as much of my realization here as is possible.