Motley Moose – Archive

First Lady Michelle Obama was in my hometown to honor the Arts yesterday

and though much of the NY fashion press coverage was focused on what she wore, like this piece from WWD: Purple Reign: Michelle Obama Makes a Splash at the Met

(she looked stunning in purple)

I was delighted to read that students from local Arts schools were invited to attend the event.  

It’s a testament to Michelle Obama’s power in the art and fashion communities that, in the minutes before she cut the ribbon reopening the Charles Engelhard Court of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s American Wing, a tableaux of New York shuffled into the chairs under the renovated skylights. Walking in along with Aerin Lauder, Annette de la Renta, Ralph Lauren and Wendi Murdoch were several dozen public school students (represented by Beacon High School, Laguardia High School, P.S. 176 and P.S. 325). A few were dressed up — one young man was spotted tucking in his white collared shirt — but many had that artsy kid look: magenta-streaked hair, unlaced high-tops, bedhead hair.

No matter: it was clearly the kids for whom Obama had shown up, though she graciously shook hands with the front row after speaking to the small crowd — a number of well-coiffed, well-heeled donors made up the rest of the audience — about the importance of all-inclusive arts organizations.

LaGuardia High School, was formerly two schools, The High School of Performing Arts and The High School of Music and Arts, which were merged in 1984.

History

Adjacent to New York’s Lincoln Center for Performing Arts, the building that is now home to LaGuardia Arts was opened in 1984 to bring together two “sister” arts high schools of the day, The High School of Music & Art (started by Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia in 1936) and the High School of Performing Arts, established in 1947. Prior to the building’s completion in 1984, Music & Art (a/k/a “The Castle on the Hill”) was located on Convent Avenue and 135th Street in what has since become part of City College (CCNY)’s South Campus; Performing Arts was located in midtown on 46th Street, both in Manhattan. Mayor La Guardia regarded Music & Art as the “most hopeful accomplishment” of his long administration as mayor.[2]

The movie Fame and the TV Series Fame both dramatized student life at the School of Performing Arts prior to its merger into LaGuardia High School, and an Off-Broadway show of Fame was produced in 2003-2004.

I am a proud alumnus of Music and Art; graduated in 1964.

Notable Alumni from the two schools are a list too long to print here, but my days at M&A included classmates like Laura Nyro.  Leonard Bernstein would guest conduct our orchestra, and Donald Byrd (jazz trumpeter) was teaching jazz.

The AP reports:

NEW YORK (AP) – First lady Michelle Obama spent her second New York City visit emphasizing the crucial role the arts play in our society, reopening part of the American wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Monday and later addressing the crowd at a glittering ballet gala.At both events, Mrs. Obama was greeted with enthusiastic ovations from audiences that included prominent figures in politics, the arts, entertainment and fashion. She stressed the importance of giving young people better access to the arts.

“The arts are not just a nice thing to have or to do if there is free time or if one can afford it,” she said at the museum. “Rather, paintings and poetry, music and fashion, design and dialogue, they all define who we are as a people and provide an account of our history for the next generation.”

“The president and I want to ensure that all children have access to great works of art,” she told a crowd that included students from four New York City public schools that focus on the arts. “We want all children who believe in their talent to see a way to create a future for themselves in the arts community, either as a hobby or as a profession.”

And she reminded the audience that her husband, President Barack Obama, had included an additional $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts in his economic stimulus package.

I am a former panalist for the NEA, the DC Arts Commission and the NYC Arts Council.  Funding for the Arts has been cut back drastically during the Bush years.  Right-wing groups have pushed for arts censorship, affecting the types of grants awarded to arts agencies.  

Music, art, drama, dance are a key part of the fabric of our society.  Sadly, during periods of cutbacks, funding for the arts, and arts teachers are the first to go.  

I hope our FLOTUS will continue to be a voice of support.  My experience at a free, public arts high school changed my life.  Schools like LaGuardia, around the nation are enriching our children.

The NY Times reports:

The first lady seized her moment in the limelight on the grand stage of the Metropolitan Opera House to call on institutions and philanthropists to make the art world readily accessible to children.

She praised the Metropolitan Museum and the American Ballet Theater for involving children of diverse backgrounds in their programs.

“My husband and I believe strongly that arts education is essential for building innovative thinkers who will be our nation’s leaders of tomorrow,” said Mrs. Obama, who introduced a performance by a multiracial cast of young dancers.

As a young girl, I had planned to become a ballerina, studying with the only two black ballet teachers on the east coast in the ’50’s, but the world of ballet was closed to me as a child of color.

(I’m the one on the far left)

I am heartened to see that changed in my lifetime.

During another period of economic duress, President Roosevelt, supported the creation of the WPA Artists Project.

Let us hope that the Arts get as much, or more support during these times.