van·guard[van-gahrd] noun
1. the forefront in any movement, field, activity, or the like.
2. the leaders of any intellectual or political movement.
I want to
say something about Houston. I want to
say Houston is a mecca of the most avant of avant garde in music, film, art,
fashion, entertainment, and culture. I
want to say that the best minds in the nation are flocking to Houston and thus
making it a hub of creativity that rivals Los Angeles, New York, or
Chicago. When asked “What’s Houston
like?” I want to say all of the above and I want to say it with swagger, like
they do in Brooklyn, or Philly, or Miami.
I want to say it so bad. And
sometimes I do. The problem is…well,
when I say what all Houstonians want the rest of the country to believe is true
about our city I end up feeling so….fraudulent.
Because truth be told, and lets tell the truth Houston, the fourth
largest American city isn’t anywhere near a cultural hub for music, film, art,
fashion, or entertainment and lets just leave out Avant garde altogether. At best, Houstonians pride themselves on being “culinary experts”
or “foodies”, which I would have to agree judging from the proliferation of bbq,
Chinese buffet, Cajun, Vietnamese, sushi, steak, seafood, fast food, and generic Americana restaurants . Perhaps this is the reason Houston tops the
list year after year of “The Fattest City in America.” Yet, I digress.
I know it’s
not just me. There are a growing number
of people who do flock to the city. They
come from the cultural cities all along the west coast and the eastern
seaboard. There are people moving to
Houston from collapsed economies, such as Detroit and New Orleans, who come to
Houston for affordable, spacious housing, for stable employment in oil and gas
and health care. They come from all over
for exemplary schools found in the suburban sprawl that continues to blanket
any piece of endless land that is sure to be developed soon enough. I mean, let’s face it, the worst school in
HISD is still better than schools in Baltimore, the Bronx, the entire state of
Mississippi, and LA proper put together. And there is many other practical
solid reasons why people are flocking to Houston and none of those reasons are
bad reasons. Who doesn’t want an
economically solid, nice place to raise a family or start a family, or relocate
as a young professional starting her or his career? All this is fine and dandy and wonderful and
makes lists of “cities on the move” and this is all good.
But, this
isn’t what I’m saying. What I’m saying
is that it’s time for Houston to set a new standard, change up the same ole
same ole, raise the bar. What we have
learned in history about great civilizations we have learned from the art its
artists left behind. Egyptian artists
left us the beauty of hieroglyphics sketched out in the walls of magnificent
pyramids that told of their life, their culture, and their struggles. The Mayans left us with an intricate calendar
which is the foundation of Western history.
The Romans, the dynasties of the
Far East, the great cultures of Russia which is still evidenced throughout St.
Petersburg and Moscow, England the Great, the royalty of the Ethiopians and
other kingdoms throughout Africa, the Native Americans - all great civilizations, which have been
studied, analyzed, adopted, incorporated, and copied, have its artists to thanks for its remnants.
So while
Houstonians and those that come to Houston for “A Better Life” go about making
a living, going to and from work, day in and day out, we run the risk of creating a colorless,
lifeless, society that says nothing about us, that says nothing about our inner
life, our imaginations, our ideas, or creativity. We have nothing to show for the diverse well
of art that is unique to our collective experience of living and being in
Houston. There is history here, not just
the cowboys and the wards and oil – there are people who have come here and who
have been here that are ready for something….unnamed , not known, slightly
smaller than everything’s bigger, or familiar, or the tradition of this how
We’ve Always Done It. It’s time for inspiration to grow from
unlikely street corners, and gentrified urbane loft living, and the Metro Rail,
and the grit of city life. There are
MC’s with experimental beats to flow to,
rock and rollers bangin it out like
Cobain in the Heights, filmmakers making unsafe movies about real shit with
courageous actors unafraid of a stigma like being downlow, or sadly still
segregated in this moderne unmodern city, painters brushing away the convention of
sellable nice art with violent strokes
to shock, to ignite the unsuspecting viewer , a pret a porter with a never- seen- before
completely fresh out the box Houstonian sensibility.
I can only
pose the question of what is to be done.
The answers will come from us – the musicians, the filmmakers, the
actors, the writers, the painters, and the dancers – the artists who can also
only pose the question to city officials, to suburbanites, to the old guard -
to make space in the city budgets for culture.
It is necessary. It is
vital. Houstonians need to hold a
magnifying glass up close to this growing issue. There is frustration mounting among the
burgeoning artist community here that are throwing in the towel and moving away
to other cities that value art and culture, taking with them a standard of
excellence that deserves to stay here. A
serious shift in consciousness and perspective need to take place and it needs
to start at the top – from the mayor, representatives, councilmen and
councilwomen – to push for profitable opportunities for artists in this city to
earn a livelihood by way of a valuable contribution to society. The most glaring oversight and obvious place
to start is the film industry. Raise the
tax incentive for God sakes in order to attract big budget, award winning film
productions to come to Houston and employ Houston filmmakers as first AD’s, 2nd
AD’s, editors, DP’s, grips, sound engineers, and the like. Our neighbor to the east, Louisiana, raised
the tax incentive to 30% from day one of production, in order to boost the
devastated economy in the wake of Katrina.
Today, Shreveport, believe it or not, has become the “Hollywood of the
South.” Go figure. Allow space in the city budget to fund and
partner with investors in theatre so that theatre professionals such as stage
managers, costume designers, and set designers will be able to work on more
projects at a fair rate. Find a way to
build specialized schools for music and dance so that young people can be
properly trained for careers in the arts.
Create programs with industry professional to outreach to schools to
excite, train, and educate children and adults about artistic disciplines. Form a coalition between the artist
communities and liaisons in government to bring fresh energy to Houston. Revitalize, organize, and give birth to
something Houston has never seen before.
The cowboys and bbq have been around a long long time now. But, we can be more, much more. Until we find the courage to make the
rhetoric a reality and recognize that art and culture is the heartbeat and
foundation of progression and innovation, Houston will be remembered as nothing
more than a dinosaur, at once mighty and extinct.
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