The Wicked Wag can’t help but wonder what W.Va. Education and Arts Secretary Kay Goodwin and the Manchins think education is for? To list when one dies so as to make the obituary paragraph longer?

One reader has said that all the qualifications a West Virginia state government appointee needs is the blessing of the governor. That’s a sorry state of affairs in 2006, for both the governor and his so-called secretary of arts and education. What does the secretary of arts and education do? Would that be a policy-making position? If so, what qualifies Ms. Goodwin to make arts policy? The Wag understands that she holds a bachelors degree in theater from West Virginia University, which is scant qualification for a position whose holder sets the direction for the state’s cultural growth and development. If the people running the administrations that created and continued this position really felt that arts and education were worthy of a secretary’s position, should they not have required that the holder of the position be well educated, both academically and by experience? (It appears that the greatest qualification Goodwin holds is her MRS from Mr. Goodwin, a powerful old-school politician.)

Of what professional development has Secretary Goodwin availed herself since she has been in office? Upon what basis does she form her opinions? More to the point, what has she done in the years she has held her post that would demonstrate her knowledge and leadership in arts and education? As the person who might be the visionary, what are her contributions? Can somebody list them, please?

Apparently, it would surprise the Manchins, Goodwin and new Commissioner of Culture and History Randall Reid-Smith to hear that there are contemporary programs in arts administration that prepare people for positions of leadership in the arts. A simple Google search yields much exciting information about the intertwining of arts and business knowledge in arts administration programs at Indiana University, the University of Kentucky, Boston University, Southern Methodist University, the University of Cincinnati, and the University of Oregon, to name just a few. Unfortunately, West Virginia University is not among them, nor is any other West Virginia school. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the governor’s will and pleasure were that West Virginia’s unique culture become a growth center for our future? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the secretary of arts and education would see to it that at least one academic institution in West Virginia offers programs that prepare our people for a future in the creative economy that requires sophistication in aesthethics and design?

For the record, here’s how the University of Indiana introduces its Arts Administration program:

“Stepping Into Leadership

The 89th U. S. Congress defined ‘arts’ as follows (this definition is also endorsed by the Education, Science, and Arts Commission of the United Kingdom’s House of Commons):

The term ‘arts’ includes, but is not limited to, music (instrumental and vocal), dance, drama, folk art, creative writing, architecture and allied fields, painting, sculpture, photography, graphic and craft arts, industrial design, costume and fashion design, motion pictures, television, radio, tape and sound recording, the arts related to the presentation, performance, execution, and exhibition of such major arts forms and the study and application of the arts to the human environment.

Since 1971, the Indiana University Arts Administration Program has trained students to assume leadership positions in the nation’s most prestigious arts institutions. The program has been committed to the development of leaders who are realists as well as idealists, forwarding-looking yet mindful of the past, and respectful of the needs of both art and business.

Broadbased in outlook and curriculum, the program strives to achieve a balance of artistic and management concerns, of theory and hands-on experience. Individual attention by full-time faculty who are arts professionals, linkages to the business world, access to top-ranked departments campuswide, and an excellent placement record are all hallmarks of the program, as are the rich cultural resources on campus and in the community.”

The will and pleasure of Indiana leaders for the past 35 years has been to provide state-supported arts management training not only for its citizens, but for the nation. It’s regrettable that the West Virginia secretary of arts and education has only the barest minimum qualifications in either arts or education and no qualifications in art administration or policy making. And that the new commissioner of culture and history has nothing but low-level administrative jobs to his credit. It has been said that the majority of West Virginians have an anti-education bias. Could the Manchins and Ms. Goodwin be part of that majority? One hopes not, but the way these two government positions have been handled seems proof of that bias.

~ The Wicked Wag

The Wag confesses to have been so riled at the crap in the state government’s Culture Sector that the June 23-24 show “Figuratively Speaking” at 1520 Kanawha Boulevard East passed without comment. The Wag wishes to correct that now.

Laura Alvis, Betty Gay, Todd Griffith, Scott McPherson, Jamie Miller and Regina Perry got together, found a great space to hang their show–the wonderful old Hallinan House on the Boulevard– mounted the show, publicized it, and hosted it, on FestivALL Weekend. Bravo! The work, a varied collection of drawings, paintings, sketches, and installations, evoked fairly strong feelings in me. The Wag’s most memorable image from the show was turning as I left on that first evening to see the young artists and their friends gathered on the steps and porch. I know they didn’t intend it, but they were part of the big picture they created. The house’s grand central staircase was transformed into a female sluice, spilling down the steps. And just beyond the doorway–the Wag will leave it to your imagination as to what that symbolized–were all the youngfolks, birthed right there on the porch.

The Wag only wishes the show could have been up a little longer, and hopes these artists will continue to show that kind of initiative.

Randall Reid-Smith (at right) was appointed commissioner of the Division of Culture and History effective July 1, immediately followed by Art Director Richard Ressmeyer’s firing.

The Wicked Wag writes:

Ms. Claymore, your courage and honesty are indeed admirable. Thank you for expressing your views. (See post below). They ring true. As for those who are griping about the dearth of local art coverage at the moment, the Wag is reminded of the old joke, “Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?”

The Wag suffered a conciliatory moment, thinking that the Manchins deserved a measure of old-fashioned West Virginia grace. But considering recent events at the Division of Culture and History, the Wag now fully recognizes that West Virginia is getting a big dose of old-fashioned, stinking West Virginia politics. Because it’s happening in the arts and culture sector, the West Virginia media is not paying attention.

The guvner, after 19 months in office, finally named a commissioner of culture and history, and that commissioner’s first action is to lop off the head of a state employee who differed with the opinion of the secretary of arts and education. People who know assert that Kay Goodwin’s attempts to grab money from the State Commission on the Arts to fix her botched museum project may be flat-out illegal. The guvner obviously thinks none of this is important, or he would have directed the secretary of arts and education to conduct a real search for a qualified commissioner. Instead, what do we get? A guy plopped into the position whose only qualification is that Mrs. Manchin says he is adorable.

We also get to see — is collusion too strong a word? – the governer, his wife, and their operative, the secretary of arts and education, conspiring to force a pillow on the face of West Virginia Culture and History. Indeed, it’s gasping for breath. Maybe the guv hoped Culture and History would just go away during those 19 months of neglect, and under the stifling hand of Kay Goodwin, that still just might happen. It will be interesting to see who else’s head rolls, since the board members of the arts commission (confusingly also called commissioners) are appointed by the governor, and serve at his “will and pleasure.” Several of these intelligent and responsible people also disagree with Kay Goodwin. So, now what, Joe Manchin? What now, Gayle Manchin?

What are Mrs. Goodwin’s qualifications for the position she holds? Never mind that. What has she done since she has held the job? Have the state’s culture and history sectors prospered under her hand? Where are you, Charleston Gazette? How about you, Charleston Daily Mail? Can we see some reporting on the issues? It appears to the Wag that if arts and education are moving forward, it is entirely without Kay Goodwin’s assistance.

What are Randall Reid-Smith’s qualifications? It isn’t enough for the governor’s press secretary to simply announce that the governor thinks Reid-Smith is well qualified. Judging from his performance so far in the arts and culture sector, the guv wouldn’t know a qualified arts administrator from the back of his own neck. Let’s examine Randall Reed-Smith’s qualifications. If his job at Culture and History was to raise money for the museum, how well did he perform? Did he raise any money? And if so, from where?

I asked in an earlier blog who’s calling the shots at Culture and History. That, dear reader, was a rhetorical question. It’s not that tough to guess. Mrs. Goodwin, you’re doing a lousy job with education and the arts. The Wag started to say ‘you’re doing a pedestrian job,’ but no, lousy, stifling, incompetent–all those words apply. That’s less than pedestrian. Joe and Gayle Manchin, it takes more than lip service to lead in arts and education.

And you, Randall Reid-Smith? If you were to jump out of their laps and take any initiative of your own, you can bet your head would roll, too.