USAC: United States Artist Corps
There are a few phenomenon, in American society, that I have noticed that I feel are linked:
-Artists are being seen as unproductive and self-absorbed
-Artists do not seem to feel a civic responsibility in being an artist
-Artists have an expectation of fame and fortune
-Public entities are the poorest examples of artfulness (unlike historically where public entities were the patrons of the best art of the time)
-Public entities are not making the greatest use of its civilian artists
So what if, at the same time, artists took a more civic responsibility toward being an artist and the public entities, the federal government in this case, utilized the talent of its citizens more effectively? What would something like that look like? If the military sought artists and made them into soldiers and let them fight with their own weapons. Not to use them in the same lame ways they are used now, to develop weak propaganda for enlisting in the military; “be all you can be” with mountains and lightning bolts reflecting off of shiny brass sword hilts and proper white-gloved hands in stoic salutes. But to use them effectively as weapons of war, to train them to use their skills and talents to further democracy, to fight authoritarianism, strike down human-rights atrocities and further the cause of our great nation.
What if artists had a responsibility that reached past their personal concerns or designs for aggrandizement? A responsibility that they had to meet with the same honor, fidelity, strength, determination and sacrifice that a soldier meets war with. What if there were artist-soldiers and their life depended on their art, quite literally?
I don’t know entirely but it may look like the “USAC Initial Enrollment Pamphlet”.
