Rules versus laws. Matters of taste. Whether the Wag’s content is appropriate for the local art blog… The Wag takes these issues seriously. Some good points have been made. Some quick responses.

Yes, the Manchins did restore Cass Gilbert’s original design to the Capitol dome (the smartest move that’s yet been made regarding the dome’s maintenance). And yes, Miz Manchin is a warm, outgoing and bright First Lady. The Wag doesn’t even have a problem with marble bathtubs. The Wag prefers excellence and wishes all West Virginians could have more exposure to it, both tactilely and conceptually. The Wag does have big problems with prevarication and obfuscation, no matter who the author is. If you prevaricate and obfuscate, you know who you are. You aren’t helping matters.

The Wag also realizes that the Manchins can’t be all things to all people. But for better or worse, they asked for the difficult administrative job of moving all of us forward, and collectively, we gave them the job. They are going to have to learn to appreciate some things they may not already know about, and may not ever have cared about. The Wag has listened and watched, and has determined that the Manchins’ strong suit is not aesthetics — and that silly releases from state government urging the plebes to attend a fair or festival, complete with Joe Manchin’s by-line notwithstanding, that culture and history, officially or unofficially, are not a high priority in this administration.

Fine. But it would be a stroke of genius on the part of the Manchins if they would only do due diligence when it comes to putting people in place who DO have excellent training and experience in the realm of Culture and History–capitals no accident. Yes, it is not only possible, but preferable to hire people who actually have credentials and track records to do important jobs, and then let them do them. (Credentials do not include a South Hills address, by the way, nor do they mean attachment to some rich or well-connected politico.)

Take West Virginia Culture and History seriously, Joe and Gayle. Prove you take our Culture and History seriously by finding the very best people you can find to fill important jobs in the Division of Culture and History. Beware of flatterers and sychophants. Beware of cronyism.

Is this a local issue? Is it an art issue? The Wag doesn’t care. The Manchins are now locals, and they ultimately preside, as far as federal and state dollars and emphasis are concerned, over art, which is part of Culture. Their attention or lack of attention in this realm will become part of our history. Can art, culture and history survive without their knowledge, care and attention? Sure. So far, they have. Would the Manchins have to stretch way out of their comfort zone to simply search for a well-qualified person to daily preside over Culture and History, and the several boards that attempt to give responsible guidance in the realms of preservation, arts, and history?

– The Wicked Wag

The Wicked Wag notes that none of the Wag’s entries has evoked written comment. Hello? Anybody out there? The Wag is starting to feel like one hand clapping.

Maybe the issues at hand are too important to be limited to the Gazz ArtAttack blog in a land where few people understand the enormous transformative power of art. Yes, art. The Wag will expound some day soon on all that, but for now, the Wag is still quivering with the realization of the parallels between how things are being done at the Governor’s mansion and how things aren’t being done next door at the Cultural Center where the museum should be.

There has been some talk about the Governor’s spending program at the mansion. The word going round is that costs for renovations will probably not stop at last week’s $3.3 million. If the Gov and The Missus have their way–and the Gov is getting pretty used to having his way–the total costs will be more like, ummm, upwards of $5 million. That’s with the new “banquet room and kitchen.” So, what is happening here is exactly THE STRATEGY applied to the museum project. Say the cost will be one figure, knowing very well that the job can’t be done for that, then do as you please and say I’m sorry later (if necessary) rather than asking permission. (In the case of the museum, that strategy went awry, but that’s because Joe is less than interested in the museum.) A lot of times the public won’t be paying any attention, and the newspapers, those barking dogs, often can be confused and thrown off scent. Or maybe the editorialists and writers at the papers don’t really care, either.

The Wag notices that the Manchins are beginning to behave like Ferdinand and Imelda, those infamous charming rulers of the Phillipines. With the Gov’s approval rating supposedly at 80%, who wants to say that he and his wife are doing the wrong thing? So the rulers take the opportunity to run hog-wild. Because they can.

Ms. Manchin perhaps has several more ideas for the mansion, which she is not totally forthcoming about, possibly because she expects the poverty mentality here will cause our collective knees to jerk and mouths to fly open with automatic shouts of ‘No!’ The Manchins, like all cunning West Virginians, have developed strategies to get around all that.

The fact is, the mansion has needed to be refurbished, and truly does need additional and updated facilities. The question is, to what degree, and in what fashion? Like the much-debated and often-changed plans for the state museum, the project should be approached in a rational way, with costs honestly, forthrightly projected. What’s that you say? “Forthright” and “West Virginia political process” are mutually exclusive concepts?

The Manchins were told long ago that vinyl replacement windows were not appropriate for the historic residence provided for them during their tenure. Much of the renovation work has been done outside of proper bidding procedures. Granted, those bidding procedures are tedious and too often result in stupid outcomes, but the process is supposed to help guard against wretched excess. The Gov and The Missus have broken the law in ignoring purchasing rules. Are we agreeing to ignore that because we like them? If plans go forward to add a wing to the mansion, it must be architecturally appropriate to the building. If it is not, it will be a blunder not only at our financial expense, but an unavoidable eyesore at the expense of our architectural legacy.

The big problem is that the Manchins are so lacking in education in this area that they don’t realize what they are doing, and so drunk with the power that popularity seems to confer on them that they think they can do no wrong. No one should touch that building without consulting at least one architect who specializes in historic structures, who has knowledge of National Register regulations.

In a state where the basic educational level is low there are few people who understand the importance of these issues. Regarding the vinyl windows discussion, several people in the statehouse said, “Wouldn’t they have used better materials if they had been available in their day?” Apparently the answer to that question is not clear to everyone, so here it is: The mansion is an example of the best materials and building practices of its day, making it worthy of careful preservation. Before downtown Charleston got its facelift, you could see the common idea of “improvement” played out on the “modernized” storefronts on historic buildings. The same ill-informed thinking is at work here.

The Wag is no politician, and no one-issue drone. The Wag acknowledges that the Manchins are charming folks. But the Wag wonders if the same clumsy, ill-informed processes are at work in other sectors of state government, and we’re unaware of it? Are we being dazzled by warm smiles? It wouldn’t be the first time, would it?

THE WICKED WAG returns with the guest post below. (Please note: the Wicked Wag is getting up to speed on gazzblog posting. The gazz editor has posted this ArtAttack entry for the Wag — he is not the illustrious WW.)

The Wicked Wag is wondering: Are we sure those folks in the governor’s mansion aren’t named Marcos? Marble bathtubs? Gold highlighting on a skylight? $1,123 for a showerhead? (These details and ones below come from a June 8 Charleston Daily Mail story by business editor George Hohman.)

Administration spokeswoman Diane Holley is sure we’ve all experienced the same kind of cost overruns when we’ve rennovated our homes. The Marcoses, uh, Manchins are no doubt feeling that their minions would only want the best for them. Afterall, Mr. M. reportedly is the second most popular provincial ruler in the land. $22,564 for 10 humidifiers, all the fittings and labor to install them, to preserve the valuable antique furniture and art?

And here, the Wag thought the M’s preferred plastic. After all, the Governor decreed that the mansion’s second and third story windows be replaced with vinyl, despite an order from the Preservation Commission. The Wag was expecting all that dusty old stuff to be replaced with bright shiny new Naugahyde and Formica.

The Wag also notes that there’s no budget for the Capitol Building Commission. Hmmm. Perhaps the same invisible hand that’s at work on the State Museum is at work there, as well?

THE WICKED WAG returns with the guest post below. (Please note: the Wicked Wag is getting up to speed on gazzblog posting. The gazz editor has posted this ArtAttack entry on the Wag’s behalf — he is not the illustrious WW.)

The Wicked Wag saw one of those filler releases that come from state government in the June 12 West Virginia Record, a weekly newspaper that purports to serve the legal community. What a “column” with Joe Manchin’s by-line on it titled “Attend a fair or festival this summer” was doing in that publication doesn’t take much guess work. The paper had a hole to fill, so they stuffed it with that release.

Yet the Wag finds it highly amusing that the same governor who opted to attend the NASCAR races in North Carolina on the weekend of The Vandalia Gathering, the biggest state-supported heritage festival of the year that occurs literally in his backyard, is telling fellow West Virginians they can have a “great, inexpensive retreat close to home.”

The Wag suggests that the governor walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

[from thegazz.com editor] The ArtAttack blog is always open to guest postings from people concerned about the health and life of the arts in West Virginia. We received the following from someone who asked they not be identified (we know who the person is) as this person must interact with the powers that be at the W.Va. Division of Culture and History in the future. We felt what Wicked Wag had to say was well worth sharing:

WICKED WAG Writes:

When it comes to properly promoting the industry of culture in West Virginia, I think many people are missing the big picture. The big picture encompasses the state’s leadership in concert with the private sector. What private culture sector, you say? Well, one might ask that question in the same way folks were asking “What tourism industry?” back in the early ’80s. Back then, state tourism efforts included a director who made about $30,000 a year and was stuck in a dismal little office in one of the state buildings. Even the tourism director had little hope for a real industry in West Virginia. So what happened? I won’t go into the history of all that, but I watched the tourism industry burgeon from those days to what it is now. Somebody got the picture.

Do I think state government should be the engine for development of an industry of culture sector in West Virginia? I don’t know, but I do know that state government shouldn’t be a hindrance. Right now, about all it is getting is lip service, and the state museum delays are a nice smoke screen for the
larger issue of lack of leadership. That lack is not Nancy Herholdt’s. She is being used as a scapegoat. She only did what she was told. The Gazette ought to be asking who the boss is? Who’s calling the shots? Or not calling them?

The reason no one is asking questions is that, apparently, no one thinks that the Division of Culture & History is important enough. If “culture” is understood as a revenue stream, then it doesn’t look so important. Certainly not as important as mining, oil, gas or chemicals. But if it’s understood as the face of West Virginia, the persona, then the neglect becomes more significant. It doesn’t appear that anyone really believes the rhetoric that a more creative populace translates into a more prosperous populace. One source in Berkeley Springs has said that the town’s revival as a spa resort was achieved in spite of a county and town government that offered little help, and from time to time, even threatened to block the town’s tourism development because of political infighting. Private enterprise prevailed, in spite of them.

Perhaps that’s what will have to happen on the state level, as well. If and when “Culture & History,” the foundation of ‘the industry of culture’, is recognized and nurtured as a substantial source of potential revenue to the state, and is allowed to speak for the state in a way equal to athletics at WVU or Marshall, state government might then finally see fit to put some brains and effective leadership behind its further development.