In large part this is a personal account of how MacArthur Park has been a continual background setting for my life in Los Angeles. When I viewed the July 7, 2025 video of MacArthur Park in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, being swept by officers from ICE to enforce federal immigration law—all I could think of was the 1968…
I viewed a Telegram video on June 22, 2024 that showed militant anti-Israel protesters taking over the Brooklyn Museum in New York City on May 31, 2024. At the actual May demonstration, pro-Palestinian crowds seized the museum lobby and hung a gigantic black banner from the pediment over the entry way that read: “Free Palestine-Divest From Genocide.” The June video…
Larry Beinhart, author of Wag the Dog, just published an interesting essay titled, Abdication of the Artists. In his piece Beinhart bemoans the complacency of contemporary artists, using the annual exhibit produced by the Woodstock Guild of Artists as an example of the apathy he detests. Beinhart writes: “This year there were 152 pieces. Some were very clever. Some amusing….
Years ago I visited the breathtaking city of Venice, Italy, world-famous for its canals, gondolas, and Renaissance architecture. It is truly the most incomparably beautiful city on the face of the earth. During my visit I strolled through the remarkable Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square), taking in the splendors of the Doge’s Palace and the magnificent St Mark’s Basilica….
Cultural democracy is part of the structure of any truly democratic society, and like political democracy, it derives its strength solely from the people. The creation, propagation, and accessibility of the arts not only helps to promote democratic values – it is vital to them. However, participatory and community based cultural democracy is never a given, it is something we…
