The United States of America is a great nation
With all deference to Mr. Vespucci, America is not the important part of our name. What sets us apart is that we are the United States. And it is now an accepted fact we are not united as a nation. The twentieth was the American Century, by 1914 we were charging up the world’s charts with a bullet. We still top the charts in 2014, but we are being carried more by momentum then new achievement and that cannot last.
Passionate dissent and political vitriol are not new
Jefferson and Adams hated each other. But they also respected each other they were willing, as uncomfortable as it made them, to listen and were able compromise. The reason was that they shared a common bond: the Idea of freedom.
The problem with ideas is that no matter how great,
after a short period of time they are open to interpretation.
And interpretation, like a straight line, is the shortest distance to dissent. In other nations this is not as much a problem, because their commonality is based on a king, a military, a common ethnicity, a common language, a single religion. But there also is a greater commonality all nations have, one not imposed upon them, but one that springs upwards from the people. It is the only true, accurate and unique reflection of any people. It is their culture. We are the nation that declared E Plurimus Unim. As a people. we are not the same. Our strength lies in that diversity. What binds us into one nation are " " the arts and crafts that define us as a people. And what sets us apart from other nations where the Culture is set ours is fluid changing with each wave of immigrant.
The cool of Steve Jobs; the fit of Levi’s; the swing of Duke Ellington...
The twang of Willie Nelson; the brevity of Hemingway; the grit of Bruce Springsteen; the serenity of Central Park; the wisdom of Maya Anjelou; the reality of Jay-Z; the dreams of Andrew Wyeth; the finesse of Fred Astaire; the uplift of Frank Geary; the simplicity of a Shaker chair; The naiveté of Grandma Moses, the harmony of Simon and Garfunkel; the insight of Bob Dylan; the flat out satisfaction of the perfect cheeseburger… someone or something on that list makes you not only identify yourself as American but makes you proud to be one. You may not like everybody on that list, but you have to recognize it is pure American.
This is what we pass onto the next generation for them to build on
Our culture has become a volatile football and scapegoat. American art does not belong to the right or the left, to moralists or hedonists. It belongs to every American citizen as a birthright. Arts and crafts are the warp and weft that holds the tapestry of a nation together. Respected and cherished, America’s culture gives us a commonality. And once secure in that commonality, we can discuss and in discussion all compromise is possible.
We need your help. Become aware, make others aware
Read our initiatives, each in its own way is designed to restores the passion this nation once had it’s the arts and crafts. Support the ones that touch you the most. Support our idea. And see art differently, because Art is the Answer.
Thank you,
David W. Hahn, President
American Arts Trust
Art is the Answer
A 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation
Learn how you can support our initiatives
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Initiative Update
The American Veterans Art Wall
American Arts Trust is pleased to announce submission forms are now open for The American Veterans Art Wall (The AVAW). The AVAW is a safe, non-judgmental, virtual wall launching November 1st in honor of Military Family Month and Veterans Day. Every U.S. veteran is invited to submit his or her own creative expression. The submission process is simple and should only take about five minutes.
American Arts Trust is proud to announce it has been chosen by Google to be one of the first organizations in the United States to participate in their new Google Open Gallery platform. Thanks to the support of Google, The AVAW will have unlimited capacity with the potential to allow every living veteran to post work that they create. The purpose of The AVAW is two fold. First to address the shameful lose of life to suicide among the military family. When you create a work of art it is a statement of I am. When you sign it and post it is a statement of I have worth and in seeing the work of others who have experienced what you have is a statement of I am not alone. And making those three statements can pull someone back from the brink. But all veterans should post, because it is the motto of the military to never leave someone behind.
Second, even if you have no symptoms of PTSD, statistics indicate someone in your unit was not so lucky.
Your posting will help that person know that they are not alone. In addition The AVAW has the potential to
be the greatest tribute to the veteran experience created solely by and for veterans. Make sure your story
is part of that, and help spread the word. And lastly, when a significant number of veterans come together
to do something and sees itself as a community, the shock waves through the halls of Congress will be palpable.
Help your brothers and sisters, help yourself, help those who follow after you.
Learn More.
News & Events
Hear exclusive streams from American Arts Trust first concert series, produced for the Mayme A. Clayton Museum and Library in Culver City, Ca. Four special pairings of Jazz Duos were presented to celebrate Black History Month, February, 2013.
Listen to these exclusive audio streams:
Charles McPherson & Eric Reed
Billie’s Bounce
Sweet & Lovely
Russell Ferrante & Bob Mintzer
It's You Or No One
Everything Happens to Me
Stick-Tuitive
Patrice Rushen & Karen Briggs
All Blues
Little Sunflower
Carmen Lundy & Carol Robbins
A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square
Where Love Surrounds Us
You're Not in Love
American Arts Trust
We're proud of our new website. There's a wealth of information on the American Arts, so please explore the entire site. We suggest you take a quick tour of the site to get the "big picture" before you dive in.
Initiative Update
Our solution to the US-Mexico border problem has made it to the President, the Senate Environmental Committee and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS responded with a series of questions. Intrigued by the initiative and our response, they have asked us to provide a study substantiating our hypothesis. We are now seeking to fund the study and consult with experts in xeriscaping, zoology, geology, geography, planning, public policy, management and environmental impact. This comprehensive three-part study will address the needs of the Sonoran, Chihuahuan and Mojave deserts. You can help fund the study and validate an affordable, sustainable eco-friendly solution. Review all updates here and learn all about The Great Green Barrier here.
American Treasures
Establishing a Tradition
An honor and title we bestow on those individual Artists, Craftspeople and Supporters who exemplify a creative discipline that is distinctly and uniquely American.
American Treasure 2014
Vincent DeRosa
Vincent DeRosa is the last in an unbroken line of DeRosa musicians which spans 400 years.
They saved the best for last
American Arts Trust
Initiatives
The Montague Collection
The debt history owes the collector
The Problem: Keep a large eclectic collection of African-American art and memorabilia off the auction block where it will be cherry-picked and 50 years of carefully curated work and sacrifice lost. Six months after the Montague Collection was first offered, the smart money sat on its hands and waited to pick up the pieces for a song.
The ART IS THE ANSWER solution:
A collection is so much more valuable than its individual items because the eye and psyche of the
collector add a point of view that creates a new experience. And, it doesn't hurt to teach the smart
money something about the art of poker....
Learn More »
The Great Green Barrier
Security by Design
The Problem: Secure the border with Mexico. Protect the three fragile desert ecosystems that comprise it.
Bolster America's image as a freedom-loving nation.
The ART IS THE ANSWER solution:
xeriscaping, the American la design technique that uses native, low-maintenance, low-impact
plants to provide a spiny solution to a thorny problem at fully 1/3 the price of current fencing.
Learn More »
The American Glass Initiative
Steuben — Reflection on a Nation
The Problem: Beginning at least as far back as the Phoenicians, every major world power has produced its
own art glass to signify technological achievement, refinement and wealth. Until recently, America had two
world-class purveyors, Tiffany Studios and Steuben. Tiffany couldn't survive the Great Depression and
Steuben has just succumbed to today's bottom-line corporate mentality.
The ART IS THE ANSWER solution:
Celebrate the exquisite art purely for itself and its subsequent reflection of America's proud image.
We no longer may need hand-cut crystal stemware on every dinner table, but we will always need and —
and should cherish — public works of art.
Learn More »
A Dialectic in Rhythm
Jazz, Tap and Beat Poetry
“I got Rhythm, who could ask for anything more?”
The Problem: Introduce the versatile, vital and uniquely American art forms of Jazz, Tap and Beat Poetry to an audience used to 140-character conversations.
The ART IS THE ANSWER solution:
An American-invented musical theater for a new millenium — a more visceral (in the style of Mummanschanz
or Stomp!) conversation among the three disciplines in their shared language, rhythm. Staged for today
and for whatever the future holds as well.
Learn More »
The American Veterans Art Wall – AVAW
“I am,” he cried, more in hope than in anger.
The Problem: When the men and women who defend America return home, how to help them process the unending horrors of war?
The ART IS THE ANSWER solution:
Provide a virtual art wall--accessible to all veterans, a blank canvas with very few rules, where raw expression meets the creative process to work out the demons. This will also be a gallery of veteran art work that bares witness to what was done -- a place of connection and healing.
Learn More »