Your visions for the next Renaissance
From our May writing prompt.
My May writing prompt was to think through how we could create the next Renaissance. I apologize for just publishing your responses a month late—I was on vacation for most of June and then returned only so that my husband could quit his job and we could move to Europe a week later. It’s been a whirlwind—I really appreciate your patience!
These are numbered so we can discuss the various proposals in the comments.
1. I wondered if we could invest in artists rather than buy the rights to their work
2. I also wondered if Substack could create the future of books
3. was inspired by New-Deal programs that funded the arts federally
In addition to the [National Endowment for the Arts], there be a nonprofit arts corporation chartered by Congress and able to use philanthropy for funds, akin to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Legal Services Corporation…
Even more imaginatively, what if we created a Polymath Corps? The NSF has the I-Corps for researchers who want to move their findings to mass markets, the Labor Department has Job Corps for youths who want blue-collar jobs, and one think tank is pushing for E-Corps for aspiring entrepreneurs, so it’s not a big stretch to see that happen for aspiring Renaissance People, who would only have to pass government aptitude tests in a STEM field, a humanity, and an art to get in.
4. thinks 3D printed homes could bring ornamentation back
3D printed homes can enable us to move away from modern, utilitarian designs to more ornamentation-heavy architecture that we common before the 20th century. Plus middle class might also be able to afford statues. Every home should have a gargoyle in their backyard.
5. thinks the Renaissance is happening right now
The Renaissance continues up to present day. Our entire planet is a global Florence.
Technology allows us to be: the writer, the publisher, and illustrator of our thoughts and ideas
It provides a library more massive than dreamed possible only a few decades ago.
Wings and wheels provide access to the wonders across the globe.
The internet is a hive of tiny salons where like minded souls can gather to socialize.
The arts are less dependent on a single patron as wealth spreads beyond just a few.
🙏
6. Taro Null thinks the digital world will help art proliferate in ways the Renaissance couldn’t
7. thinks we need to take money out of the equation altogether
8. doesn’t want the rich to define art anymore
To me, as constructed, art is a commodity, and as such is at the mercy of what the market, and those with the power to manipulate it. This is illustrated by news that focuses on the cost of high-end art, which represents wealth and not art creation…
We would have to radically redefine modern capitalism to accommodate those who want to spent their time in the creation of art in all of its manifestations. With so much capital being amassed in a smaller subset of society, it puts the mega-wealthy in the driver's seat of what is and is not supported. Or we would have to enact legislation to direct some of that excess capital into the arts through the tax code as was done in response to the excesses of the Guilded Age which led to the creation of entities such as the Carnegie Foundation, et. al.
Ideas are numbered so you can talk about various ideas in the comments. See you there!
I was particularly drawn to the idea of investing in artists rather than simply buying their work and the vision of a digital Renaissance where technology enables a global exchange of creativity. Your ability to weave these ideas together was brilliant, and I wouldn't have thought about this in the same way. Great perspective, thank you.
I just read the most anti-hopeful article from another substack (DarkFutura, check it out!) and reading this right after something much less positive feels very strange indeed! Thanks for brightening up my thoughts ;)