Arts as a Weapon of War, The :Britain and the Shaping of National Morale in World War II

Publication subTitle :Britain and the Shaping of National Morale in World War II

Author: Weingartner> Jorn  

Publisher: I.B.Tauris‎

Publication year: 2012

E-ISBN: 9780857710635

P-ISBN(Paperback): 9781780760322

Subject: J Art

Keyword: 艺术

Language: ENG

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Description

In 1834, Lord Melbourne spoke the words that epitomised the British government's attitude towards its own involvement in the arts: 'God help the minister that meddles with Art'. However, with the outbreak of World War II, that attitude changed dramatically when 'cultural policy' became a key element of the domestic front. Not only a propaganda tool, it aimed to boost morale and present a wartime cultural black-out. Jorn Weingartner traces the evolution of this policy from the creation of the Committee for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts (CEMA), in 1939, to the drafting of the Arts Council's constitution in 1945, as CEMA outgrew its original wartime role. From the improvement of the National Gallery to Myra Hess's legendary concerts during the blitz, this was a crucial period in Britain's cultural history - as the government set aside its long-standing 'neutrality' towards the arts. Weingartner engages with debate over the role of war in moulding social development, as well as the democratisation of 'high culture', to provide a fascinating account of the foundations of the modern relationship between government and the arts.

Chapter

II. The political reasons for state neutrality in the sphere of arts in Great Britain

III. The cultural elites and state intervention

IV. Indicators of extended state influence on the arts

1. The BBC

2. The British Council

3. Birmingham

4. The National Theatre

V. The Cultural Blackout and the Phase of the 'Welfarist Approach'

1. The Cultural Blackout

2. The Setting up of CEMA

2.1. Music

2.2 Drama

2.3. Art

3.CEMA's Policy January - June 1940

4. CEMA and the Ministry of Labour and National Service

5. CEMA's Policy June 1940 - January 1942

6. Conclusion

VI. John Maynard Keynes and the 'standard approach': CEMA's policy from January 1942 - September 1944

1. John Maynrd Keynes

2. The changes in organisation

3. The changes of policy

3.1. Art

3.2. Music

3.3 Drama

4. Entertainment Tax

5. The Ministry of Labour and deferment

6. CEMA and the audience

7. Conclusion

VII. From CEMA to the Arts Council of Great Britain, September 1944 to June 1945 and beyond

1. The discussion on CEMA's future within the Treasury, September 1944 to January 1945

2. CEMA's work in the transitory period September 1944 to December 1945

3. The financial arrangement

4. The departmental responsibility

5. The constitution of the Arts Council

6. Conclusion

VIII. Conclusion and Outlook

References

Bibliography

Index

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