At the Aug. 28 reception for National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu at the Anchorage Museum, I was struck by comments from some parties who claimed that before the establishment of the NEA, 50 years ago, "art was only for the elite." Now the arts are for everybody thanks to the NEA, they implied.
The people who asserted this were not, so far as I could tell, alive 50 years ago. I was. I don't think anyone in Homer at the time -- and few in Anchorage -- considered themselves "elite." And yet we were surrounded by art everywhere we looked. I played with elegant toy animals carved from ivory. Beads decorated our footwear. Kitchen cabinets were sculpted into scenic landscapes by nameless old-timers.
Most houses in Anchorage had one bathroom. Other Alaskans using honeybuckets and outhouses considered them lucky. The same houses often had a recording or two of Eugene Ormandy or Van Cliburn next to the well-thumbed copy of "The Family of Man." Nearly every home had more books, sometimes rooms of them, that had actually been read than is the case now. You could catch Leonard Bernstein on television; commercial networks aired serious drama and opera.
Back in Homer, which had no television, our well drew little or no water for a good part of the year, so we didn't wash much. The closest bit of pavement was in Soldotna. Almost everything we ate was hunted, caught or grown within 20 miles of where we ate it. My family's first phone had five other subscribers on the line.
And yet in 1963 alone Homer folk heard pianist Herman Godes play Chopin on the school's blond upright console piano, the New York Woodwind Quintet, Paul Doktor, among the most eminent violists of the 20th century, accompanied by Yaltah Menuhin. That's Yehudi's sister, the one he considered more talented than himself, student of Rudolf Serkin, friend of Ernst Krenek, Frank Martin and other heavyweight 20th-century composers. In her concert dress. In the Homer high school gym.
A good number of adults, probably more than one out of 10, played an instrument. Those who would not willingly sing when called on were anomalies. Local thespians staged "Bell, Book and Candle," "The Male Animal" and "Six Characters in Search of an Author." I scratched my head at the wildly "modern" work of Wassily Sommers and Marvin Mangus in an all-Alaska art show crammed into the Wild Berry Products sales room. But I looked long and hard at them because in those days everybody participated in such things.
We have a lot more opportunities for performances and art shows today, at least in Anchorage. But with regard to how much of the population avails itself of these opportunities, I'm tempted to say it is less now than 50 years ago. Not that things were better in the old days. But they were different.
The argument can be made that, far from having expanded to "everyone," government-funded art is increasingly the domain of the well-connected few -- the aesthetic 1 percent.
My theories for why the shift has occurred are too convoluted to publish in this column. The reasons are political, cultural and deep-set. And it won't change back in my lifetime.
But we who shared honeybuckets and wallowed in art prior to the NEA's creation can take pride in knowing that someone out there considers us to be the elites.
Second set for cello rockers
The Anchorage Concert Association has added a second show for the cello-rock band Break of Reality. The original 7:30 p.m. concert on Sept. 25 was on the brink of being sold out last week, so a decision was made to experiment with a late-night session starting at 10 p.m. The second show is said to be shorter than the main gig. It's also cheaper, at $25 a ticket, available at centertix.net.
The second performance isn't exactly a surprise to those familiar with the high-energy style and crowd-pleasing showmanship of Break of Reality. The unique ensemble, which mixes originals with covers of tunes by Tool and Metallica, sold out their last Anchorage show in 2012.
Crowd-sourcing funds new Call album
Alaska singer-songwriter Marian Call has raised more than $67,000 in a Kickstarter campaign to cover the costs of producing her next studio album, "Standing Stones." The achievement is impressive even for Call, who is something of an expert in the confusing world of crowd-sourcing. Her goal was $25,000. The windfall will help "fund the creation of new original songs, music videos, custom vinyl, an acoustic EP and an EP of jazz standards and covers, all now in the pipeline" in addition to "Standing Stones," which will come out next year.
Earlier this month, Call played in Talkeetna, Anchorage and Palmer. Starting Oct. 12 she'll be on an out-of-state tour that begins in Austin, Texas, before heading to Orlando and heading up the East Coast to New England.
Authors in Palmer
Seth Kantner and Kris Farmen will be the guests of honor at the next Dinner with the Writers event presented by Fireside Books in Palmer. Farmen writes historical fiction. Kantner's latest book, a collection of essays titled "Swallowed by the Great Land," includes several pieces previously published in the ADN. The dinner takes place at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, at Denali Ale & Steakhouse, 918 S. Colony Way, and tickets are required (goodbooksbadcoffee.com). The two will also be at a free book-signing at the bookstore, 700 S. Alaska St., at 4 p.m., also on Sept. 23.
Wasilla author Mary Perry will be at Fireside to talk about her book "A Lot to be Thankful For" at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 19. And nationally known poet from HBO's "Def Poetry Jam" Dasha Kelly will give a talk at the store at 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26.
Primis honored in Illinois
The late Steve Primis, a gym and ballet teacher in Anchorage for many years, was honored on Aug. 29 by alumni of the championship gym team he coached at Lane Tech High School in Northbrook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, from 1968 to 1971. Later that year he moved to Eagle River. He was involved with the Alaska Festival of Music, opened The Academy of Classical Ballet and started the Dance Department at Anchorage Community College, now UAA. He died in 2001.
Reach Mike Dunham at mdunham@alaskadispatch.com or 257-4332.