Cultural Omnivores

http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2011/03/16/134592242/in-praise-of-cultural-omnivores?ft=1&f=1008

Above is the link to a very interesting article I found about the public's consumption of different levels of art and cultural events. (Highbrow level = opera or classical music, etc. Middlebrow level = theater, etc. Lowbrow = NASCAR, etc) In this article it is suggested that people who attend art and cultural events have a tendency to attend events from all three categories, thus the name "cultural omnivore".

I kinda like this idea of omnivores. Yes, it is necessary to have all the major art food groups: Theater, Music, Museums, Dance, and Film. But life just wouldn't be much fun without the cultural "chocolate" too of Football or NASCAR or Daytime Dramas (just a fancy term for Soap Operas)to name a few. I personally have a tendancy to cross-polinate quite a bit enjoying all sorts of cultural and art experiences. For example I can enjoy Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture as much as my Mother does, but I also like Led Zeppelin and Madonna.

The article also wants to address the issue of dwindling audiences during the period 2002 through 2008. Where this article seems to fail is in forgetting that the US economy experienced an enormous recession during this period and is still in the grips of recession. It is hard to continue to support the arts as much as we would like when we are unemployed or under-employed and struggling to pay for the basic necessities of life like rent and food. Studies like the NEA's are nice for beginning a discussion, but you can't take information out of context and expect to have a meaningful discussion.