Viewing page 32 of 99

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

WHAT IS ARTISTS EQUITY ASSOCIATION?

Art not so long ago was appreciated and enjoyed by a select few. It was treated as "holy-holy" both by the artist, his friends and the "knowing" public. An organization of the nature of Artists Equity Association would then have been brushed aside as too materialistic and beneath the dignity of the artist.

Inter-related opportunities and a changing world have brought into focus a whole new set of values. Because American artists were starved for recognition, they were willing to have their work exploited. So far, the past records that most artists organizations were founded either for aesthetic or exhibition purposes. Many societies have come and gone as their beliefs or reasons for existing no longer answered the needs of its members. The only one that I recall, which was formed for the purpose of protecting the artist's economic interests, was the Artists Union. This appeared during the WPA Project days and was possible because of a common employer, the government. While Equity is based on an economic structure it aims to achieve for its members the kind of economic betterment effected by the Authors League for writers and ASCAP for composers and publishers.

Perhaps the aftermath of the war galvanized our desire to secure a surer footing in our present day society. During 1946,