You won’t see many experimental composers up there

william osborne says:

It is interesting to google a phrase like “Meredith Monk, social criticism” and notice that nothing relevant appears. Almost all of the listings have the word social crossed out to indicate the word does not even appear. Or social is referred to, but not in any critical manner. This makes her a truly authentic post 70s American composer. And of course, exactly the sort of composer the American establishment truly appreciates, hence her award. Be obedient and proper boys and girls, careerism comes first, nothing else counts. Be apolitical, except for a few areas deemed acceptable, a bit of environmentalism, a little feminism, support Tibet against the evil Chinese, don’t talk about the embarrassing political details of Sistema, etc.

One would think that at least some untoward statement made by Monk in a moment of weakness might appear, a comment about our racially informed classes system, police brutality, something about the contiguous ghettos that stretch from D.C. to Boston, Wall Street corruption, militarism, illegal and murderous invasions, the lack of public arts funding or national health insurance, etc. But no, not a word. Perhaps Google missed something, but if so, it must not have been a very notable pronouncement.

In the 50s and 60s, the CIA infiltrated the boards of MOMA, the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and many other organizations, and it set up its own phony-front organizations like the Congress for Cultural Freedom to disempower the American left. At the same time, the left was further weakened by the HUAC purges, especially in Hollywood. By controlling funding and promoting an apolitical abstract expressionism, and through creating an atmosphere of intimidation, artists inclined toward social statements were marginalized. Even Aaron Copeland was hauled before HUAC and was never the same afterwards.

We see the results today in artists like Monk and many others. An irony surrounds minimalism as it moves beyond its apolitical nature to the self-absorption and torpor of an inner world that stands as an antipode to social engagement. So it’s not surprise to see Monk there with the President. She has behaved.