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Letter to the Editor In your last issue (Vol.3, No. 3), Joe Daun stated that politics, meaning "the position of the artist in the community," are more important than the work itself. He is somewhat forgiving when he writes, "Granted, many groups have been discriminated against, and much needs to be done to provide equal access to all artists to all spaces." However, he contradicts himself when he follows with "It seems that the San Antonio community has opted for quotas instead of looking for art that represents a certain minority." If the San Antonio art community looked for art that focused on certain minorities, that would be discrimination and would not provide equal access to all artists to all spaces. Mr. Dan is creating his own political-action committee when he states that he "feels that artist community of San Antonio needs to come together - not destroy itself. A dialogue needs to be started between the different groups of artists - a dialogue based on community needs, not distrust or greed." By suggesting that there should be more Latino art shows in San Antonio, Mr. Daun is encouraging the very political problem of which he writes. When challenging the art spaces in town to offer more curated shows and to challenge the public with shows that focus on certain social, political or artistic issues, Mr. Dun is actually asking the artist community to limit their individual expression and to deny the public the diversity San Antonio possesses. Mr. Daun reminds readers that our effort is about art. In the beginning of his letter he states that much needs to be done to ensure that art remains at the center of discussion. However, his suggestion is a political challenge. If his true intent is to keep art the focus of our endeavor, Mr. Daun should encourage the contributing characteristics that define art, such as emotional inspiration, poetic imagination, intellectual understanding, and technical skill. Rather, he would choose to limit his broad-spectrumed undertaking we call art to reflect Latino art as only a small portion of the great art San Antonio artists (including Latinos) are capable of producing. Suzzane Rivas Voices of Art 715 Camden Street San Antonio, Texas 78215 (210) 223-6253 Publisher/Editor: David M. Freeman Managing Editor: William E. Keith Jr. Associate Editor: William E. Keith Sr. Assistant Graphics Editor: Michael Howell Contributing Writers: Wendy Weil Atwell Maria Elena Botello Buchanan Peter Doroshenko John Freeman Ken Little Page 3
