Great Plains Studies, Center for
Date of this Version
1989
Abstract
A healthy artistic climate does not depend solely on the work of a handful of supremely gifted individuals. It demands the cultivation of talent and ability at all levels. It demands that everyday work, run-of-the-mill work, esoteric and unpopular work should be given a chance; not so much in the hope that genius may one day spring from it, but because, for those who make the arts their life and work, even modest accomplishment is an end in itself and a value worth encouraging. The pursuit of exceUence is a proper goal, but it is not the race itself. 1 Gough Whitlam, Prime Minister of Australia
Comments
Published in Great Plains Quarterly (GPQ 9 (Spring 1989): 119-124).Copyright 1989 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska—Lincoln.