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Transcription: [00:42:42]

{SPEAKER name="David C. Ward"}
--in the middle

[00:42:45]
{Unknown Speaker}
Note the song captures the supernatural ecstasy of feeling in love. Like the song "Dancing Barefoot"

{SPEAKER name="Patti Smith"}
Oh, thank you.

[00:42:53]
{Unknown Speaker}
I've been entranced with that song all of my whole life.

{SPEAKER name="Patti Smith"}
Thank you.

[00:42:56]
{Unknown Speaker}
Just describe for me [[inaudible]]

{SPEAKER name="David C. Ward"}
How do you want to play it?

{SPEAKER name="Patti Smith"}
Um

[[laughter]]

[00:43:02]
{SPEAKER name="Patti Smith"}
Well, he, uh, he has asked about my song "Dancing Barefoot." It's very interesting that you should ask about that because I'm writing a major piece that is, uh,
[00:43:14]
that song is inspiring a very big piece, but to bring it down quickly, "Dancing Barefoot" I wrote in response to--
[00:43:27]
It has three levels. One is to the people because I wrote it, part of it, to the people. Um, and it's about communication with the people as a performer.
[00:43:44]
Another level is communication with God, my Creator. And another level, the most, probably the most prominent thing, is it was a love song to my late husband, Fred Sonic Smith.
[00:44:00]
And so when it says "Could it be he's taken over me?" that's about him.

[00:44:10]
[[Applause]]

[00:44:15]
{SPEAKER name="David C. Ward"}
Yes, in there.

{Unknown Speaker}
Um, I'd just like to thank you for having such an impact on me and a lot of people at my school. I'm in a club that promotes student action.

[00:44:23]
And I was wondering what your feelings were about the controversial decision with the exhibit upstairs [[??]]

{SPEAKER name="David C. Ward"}
Oh.

[00:44:31]
{SPEAKER name="Patti Smith"}
I think that it's overblown--

{SPEAKER name="David C. Ward"}
Now just--

{SPEAKER name="Patti Smith"}
It's okay.

[00:44:33]
{SPEAKER name="David C. Ward"}
No I was just going to repeat it for the--

{SPEAKER name="Patti Smith"}
Well, she wants to--sorry, go ahead

{SPEAKER name="David C. Ward"}
No, go ahead.

[[laughter]]

[00:44:40]
{SPEAKER name="Patti Smith"}
I'm sorry.

{SPEAKER name="David C. Ward"}
Um, the removal of the [[??]] video, um--

{SPEAKER name="Patti Smith"}
Well, I think probably it brought-- [[Audience Laughter]]

[00:44:48]
it brought more attention to the video than it probably would have gotten in the first place. So, I think that--

{SPEAKER name="David C. Ward"}
That wasn't our intention.

[[Audience Laughter]]

[00:45:01]
{SPEAKER name="Patti Smith"}
I, I, I really, I think it's more humorous than anything I don't think that it's-- You know, I read somewhere where someone compared it to what happened to the Robert Mapplethorpe exhibit in Cincinnati.

[00:45:16]
There's no comparing the two issues. They shut down Robert's exhibit. They slandered him as a human being. They called him a pedophile.

[00:45:26]
{SPEAKER name="David C. Ward"}
Right.

{SPEAKER name="Patti Smith"}
And he wasn't alive, of course, to defend himself. I think that really this snafu that we're in the middle of

[00:45:39]
it's almost, you know, it's almost like a-- this overreaction of religions towards any examination of what they think is proper.

[00:45:54]
And it's really ridiculous because most art I mean from [[??]] to Mexican Retablos are much more shocking than this stupid little plastic crucifix with ants crawling on it.

[00:46:08]
I imagine-- I know I'm going off the track but I've thought about this.

{SPEAKER name="David C. Ward"}
No, it's fine.

[00:46:12]
{SPEAKER name="Patti Smith"}
I was imagining Jesus coming back and looking at this and embracing the ants--[[Audience Laughter]]-- and being appalled by the crucifix.

[00:46:23]
[[Audience Laughing and Applauding]]

[00:46:33]
{SPEAKER name="Patti Smith"}
And I have to say we can't forget the Smithsonian is a-- you know it receives federal funding. If the Smithsonian lost their funding,

[00:46:43]
hundreds and hundreds of people, I believe, would be out of work. We would lose such an important institution.

[00:46:53]
I think, you know, whether it's all sort of dumb. The Smithsonian has done a beautiful job. This exhibition is so strong. Is so beautiful. Is so diverse. And so elegant.

[00:47:06]
I was just nearly moved to tears by it and I don't think it should be clouded by this one issue that is unfortunate.

[00:47:20]
And really--

{SPEAKER name="David C. Ward"}
Let me just say a heartfelt thank you

[[Audience Laughter and Applause]]

[00:47:27]
{SPEAKER name="Patti Smith"}
Well, I just, I'm grateful for the exhibition. I also think it's interesting you know 10 years ago, or more or less, there would be a public outcry because of all the male schmoozing in the pictures.

[00:47:44]
Or whatever, but there was nothing of that. What are people worried about? I mean, ants on a Crucifix, I mean I think that shows some progress in our country.

[00:47:55]
[[Audience Laughing]]