I visited the Kickstarter site today for the first time.  https://www.kickstarter.com/learn?ref=hero___

I've seen demos on YouTube of some of their projects but I really hadn't grasped the scope of their operation.  It reminds me of the Nat'l Endowment for the Arts, which is a government funded program.  The difference, I think, is the Kickstarter program goes along with merit and public perception w/o being overly influenced by private lobbyist interference.  I may be wrong but I hope not.

Many fine creative expressionists were cut from the NEA programs because of undue influence from private groups with their own agendas __ censorship is an ugly country.  Granted no one wants to be responsible for public funding and displays of violent or pornographic material but on some level even these expressions can be considered art. And let's face it, much of what was once considered to be too violent or suggestive is now mainstream, accessible in our own homes on our personal viewing devices.

What to do?

Some say simply don't fund art at all.  Some, don't fund the objectionable [very open to interpretation]. Others want to fund it all.  Programs like Kickstarter are an interesting approach.  I'm sure they have their own judging criteria but hopefully it's not political, religious or materially based.  There are many in the art world who spend their entire lives subsisting rather than flourishing because the ability [or simply the desire] to remain quietly anonymous is not an option open to them.  In order to progress in this culture one must perform for the public. And even then, if one is willing to jump through those hoops, the time and energy required is consuming, drawing away from the ability to create and provide even the most basic of daily necessities.  I think many would be surprised at how many truly gifted people are working basic service jobs simply to pay their bills.  I think they would also be surprised at how difficult it can be to allow the creative process to flow and present when exhausted from the work schedule.

Once again, what to do?

Possibly one answer would be to provide funding with some caveats __ say setting aside blocks of time when the subsidized could exchange  time in public service to the community.  Or having the artist donate a portion of his/her work back to the funding program.

These are just some ruminations of an early morning but I do know one thing... a culture is defined by it's creativity.  Yes, it's nice to think we're defined by our actions to each other as a baseline of future perceptions of who we are/were but in the end it's what we create and leave behind that exemplifies how we are seen to have walked the earth.

http://arts.gov/news/2014/national-endowment-arts-award-more-74-million-us-nonprofits