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"Washington has more writers, authors, designers and architects per capita than any state in the country."
You know, I don't know if I'd argue against that statement but I'm not sure I'd consider those professions automatically "artsy." Can you really consider an architect employed by the USPS to adapt a general design of a post office to specific sites or an historian employed by the Library of Congress to be artists? I suppose you could but when most folks hear the term "artist" they think creativity. Those jobs do require some creativity but also a great deal of conformity.
I'd say DC has a lot of artists but it isn't necessarily a hotbed of creativity. These folks are either long established artists past their peak relevancy or performers performing masterworks from all over the world. There isn't anything wrong with that and it's amazing to have access to so much world class culture.
"Washington has more writers, authors, designers and architects per capita than any state in the country."
You know, I don't know if I'd argue against that statement but I'm not sure I'd consider those professions automatically "artsy." Can you really consider an architect employed by the USPS to adapt a general design of a post office to specific sites or an historian employed by the Library of Congress to be artists? I suppose you could but when most folks hear the term "artist" they think creativity. Those jobs do require some creativity but also a great deal of conformity.
I'd say DC has a lot of artists but it isn't necessarily a hotbed of creativity. These folks are either long established artists past their peak relevancy or performers performing masterworks from all over the world. There isn't anything wrong with that and it's amazing to have access to so much world class culture.
That's what I was a thinking. What has DC produced creatively that we see coming out of places such as LA, NYC, and Chicago?
That's what I was a thinking. What has DC produced creatively that we see coming out of places such as LA, NYC, and Chicago?
I don't think DC is completely uncreative and I'd actually say it can hold its own against Chicago(I've never really considered Chicago that artsy). DC does theatre pretty well. It's probably second only to NYC. You have to also account for the fact that DC is a fraction of the size of those cities. Also, DC, as the national capital has a certain image to uphold and edgy and "urban" art(think graffiti) won't be tolerated when the majority of Americans view it as blight or not family friendly.
I don't think DC is completely uncreative and I'd actually say it can hold its own against Chicago(I've never really considered Chicago that artsy). DC does theatre pretty well. It's probably second only to NYC. You have to also account for the fact that DC is a fraction of the size of those cities. Also, DC, as the national capital has a certain image to uphold and edgy and "urban" art(think graffiti) won't be tolerated when the majority of Americans view it as blight or not family friendly.
I don't think DC is completely uncreative and I'd actually say it can hold its own against Chicago(I've never really considered Chicago that artsy). DC does theatre pretty well. It's probably second only to NYC. You have to also account for the fact that DC is a fraction of the size of those cities. Also, DC, as the national capital has a certain image to uphold and edgy and "urban" art(think graffiti) won't be tolerated when the majority of Americans view it as blight or not family friendly.
When I think of a place being artsy, I'm thinking of things more along the lines of a class of artist and other counter-cultural types producing original works and being a part of a movement instead of reproducing other peoples work. Chicago for example used to be a mecca for jazz musicians who would later become influential figures in the genre and it attracted other jazz musicians to the city.
there's a lot of historic art in dc and mostly historic art being made;
not as much underground art on the radar, although it is not totally
non-existent. it's just not out in the open per se.
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