In 2009 the LA Times did a little feature on the National Endowment for the Arts, the fate of which was under debate as conservatives attacked its relevance in the latest iteration of the Obama stimulus package. The Times asked the hoi polloi of Hollywood what they would do if they took over the NEA. Basketball hero Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and actor Bill Pullman both talked about the way that New Deal art programs blended civic worth with aesthetics. Check out what they had to say:
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, top all-time scorer in the NBA (also an actor and author): “I’ve been asked what I would do if I were in charge of the NEA. Given that times have taken on a very strong resemblance to the New Deal, I would try to emulate one of the very successful programs from that era. During the 1930s, American artists were hired by the WPA and other agencies to help beautify America in conjunction with many Public Works projects. Thousands of artists, sculptors, landscapers, filmmakers, musicians and writers were involved in using their crafts to help beautify America. The Federal Art Project, the Federal Music Project, the Federal Theatre Project, the Federal Writers’ Project, and the Historical Records Survey were the vehicles that made this possible. Many of their contributions are still with us and have become a special part of America’s cultural landscape. Someone who understands how all this came about would be the perfect person to help make it possible to again create jobs for America’s artists and craftsmen.”