In Thursday’s (7/23) New York Times , Robin Pogrebin and Jo Craven McGinty write, “As the N.E.A.’s chairman-designate, Rocco Landesman, awaits his confirmation (his proposed nomination is expected to be approved before the Congressional recess in August), he looks likely to start the job on firmer ground than any of his recent predecessors. … Certainly the economy, and the growing public anxiety about the deficit, may yet put a damper on arts financing. But political goodwill toward the endowment is clearly on the rise, and many in the arts world are wondering if Mr. Landesman will be able to lead it, finally, into a new era—and, if he does, in what direction he will take it. … Even if Mr. Landesman hopes to strike out on a new path, say, by pushing to restore grants to individual artists—something many people in the arts considered ‘the heart and soul of the endowment,’ as the painter Chuck Close put it in an interview—he may find himself looking to the tenures of [his predecessors] Mr. Gioia and Mr. Ivey.”
Posted July 23, 2009
