Today is a day of melancholy and memories of President John F. Kennedy, assassinated 50 years ago today. President Kennedy believed in the need for a nation to represent itself through its contributions to the human spirit, including its art and "full recognition of the place of the artist."
JFK spoke on October 26, 1963 at Amherst College in Massachusetts in honor of the poet Robert Frost, who had died in January of that year. Among the words he
spoke that day:
“If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him. We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.”
“I look forward to an America which will not be afraid of grace and beauty, which will protect the beauty of our natural environment, which will preserve the great old American houses and squares and parks of our national past, and which will build handsome and balanced cities for our future. I look forward to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft. I look forward to an America which will steadily raise the standards of artistic accomplishment and which will steadily enlarge cultural opportunities for all of our citizens. And I look forward to an America which commands respect throughout the world not only for its strength but for its civilization as well. And I look forward to a world which will be safe not only for democracy and diversity but also for personal distinction.”
Two years later, President Lyndon Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act, creating the National Endowment for the Arts.
Fifty years ago today, I was eight years old, about to take the stage at Pine Hill Elementary School in Cheektowaga, just outside of Buffalo, to narrate the 3rd Grade all-school play when we were informed that the President had been shot. We learned afterwards that he had died, and my family and the nation mourned continuously for days, and for what seemed like forever. Earlier today, I followed the live footage from the Tribute to JFK at the JFK Library in Boston. I was particularly moved by the words from his prophetic speeches, the choirs' stirring songs, and James Taylor's and Paul Winter's poignant performances.
We, and our nation and perhaps the world, lost our innocence that day 50 years ago. Maybe the arts can help us retain some of that innocence, as well as truth and beauty, to uplift the human spirit today.
Peace to all.
Reference:
President John F. Kennedy: Remarks at Amherst College, October 26, 1963
http://arts.gov/about/kennedy
JFK spoke on October 26, 1963 at Amherst College in Massachusetts in honor of the poet Robert Frost, who had died in January of that year. Among the words he
spoke that day:
“If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him. We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.”
“I look forward to an America which will not be afraid of grace and beauty, which will protect the beauty of our natural environment, which will preserve the great old American houses and squares and parks of our national past, and which will build handsome and balanced cities for our future. I look forward to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft. I look forward to an America which will steadily raise the standards of artistic accomplishment and which will steadily enlarge cultural opportunities for all of our citizens. And I look forward to an America which commands respect throughout the world not only for its strength but for its civilization as well. And I look forward to a world which will be safe not only for democracy and diversity but also for personal distinction.”
Two years later, President Lyndon Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act, creating the National Endowment for the Arts.
Fifty years ago today, I was eight years old, about to take the stage at Pine Hill Elementary School in Cheektowaga, just outside of Buffalo, to narrate the 3rd Grade all-school play when we were informed that the President had been shot. We learned afterwards that he had died, and my family and the nation mourned continuously for days, and for what seemed like forever. Earlier today, I followed the live footage from the Tribute to JFK at the JFK Library in Boston. I was particularly moved by the words from his prophetic speeches, the choirs' stirring songs, and James Taylor's and Paul Winter's poignant performances.
We, and our nation and perhaps the world, lost our innocence that day 50 years ago. Maybe the arts can help us retain some of that innocence, as well as truth and beauty, to uplift the human spirit today.
Peace to all.
Reference:
President John F. Kennedy: Remarks at Amherst College, October 26, 1963
http://arts.gov/about/kennedy
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