FOCUS

SHARED VALUES AND SOARING SPIRIT
By Bill Clinton

President Clinton reflects on the significance and scope of the arts in the United States today and, more specifically, about its impact on average citizens' lives.

GOVERNMENT AND THE ARTS
A Conversation with Jane Alexander

From the perspective of her recently completed four-year tenure as chairman of the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts, Alexander assesses the meaning and value of the arts in contemporary U.S. society, and the challenges being confronted. An accompanying table shows funding levels for the nonprofit arts sector.

COMMENTARY

ARTS AND SOCIETY: MEETING AT THE CROSSROADS
A Dialogue with Morris Dickstein

What does art and culture add to a society? Is there a definitive American art form? What have been the points of reference for U.S. culture? Cultural historian Dickstein, Director of the Center for the Humanities, City University of New York Graduate Center, reflects on the contemporary arts scene and its historical and literary underpinnings in this dialogue.

THE U.S. SCREEN SCENE
By Scott Eyman

Despite the frequent barbs from observers of U.S. moviemaking, book critic Scott Eyman submits that there are some significant developments in that art form that bear watching, a sign that the next century promises great leaps. A sidebar sketch focuses on independent film director Victor Nu��z, whose most recent movie, Ulee's Gold, was widely acclaimed in 1997.

NEW MUSIC FOR A NEW CENTURY
By Joshua Kosman

Classical music in the United States stands on the verge of an enormous rejuvenation, with contemporary composition boasting a combination of vitality and accessibility. The author, classical-music critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, identifies some of the individuals in the forefront of this creativity. Leonard Slatkin, music director of the National Symphony Orchestra and one of the leading exponents of contemporary American music, is the subject of an accompanying sidebar.

U.S. POP MUSIC
A Conversation with Gary Burton

Popular music is a multifaceted mosaic that challenges simple description. In this interview with Michael J. Bandler, Burton, a noted vibraphonist, composer and music educator, explores the current scene and the forces at work.

U.S. THEATER IN THE NINETIES: A HEARTLAND PERSPECTIVE
By Dan Sullivan

From his base in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the midwestern United States, critic and educator Sullivan offers a view, in microcosm, of the state of theater across the country, with all its tensions and growth. Accompanying this assessment is a glimpse of East West Players, a Los Angeles-based company that exemplifies multicultural theater in the United States.

DANCE AT THE CLOSE OF THE CENTURY
By Suzanne Carbonneau

The seeds planted by early pioneers in U.S. ballet and modern dance have sprouted a lively, energetic and imaginative growth and expansion as the millennium approaches. Dance critic Carbonneau identifies the numerous developments and trends that have lifted the art to higher levels and transported it in different directions. A brief profile of U.S. choreographer Mark Morris accompanies this article.

THE VISUAL ARTS: ON THE CUSP OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM
By Eleanor Heartney

This is a time of flux within the U.S. art world, says critic Heartney, in which contrasting and even contradictory developments can coexist and cross-fertilize. In this article, she defines American art, and discusses the globalization of art, the impact of electronic media, the changing nature of public art and the expanded role of museums. A short accompanying profile focuses on the work of contemporary painter Elizabeth Murray.

RESOURCES

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND INTERNET SITES

U.S. Society & Values

USIA Electronic Journal

Volume 3, Number 1, June 1998

USIA's electronic journals, published and transmitted worldwide at three-week intervals, examine major issues facing the United States and the international community, and inform foreign publics about the United States. The journals -- Economic Perspectives, Global Issues, Issues of Democracy, U.S. Foreign Policy Agenda and U.S. Society & Values -- provide analysis, commentary and background information in their thematic areas. All journals are translated into French and Spanish, and selected issues are also translated into Arabic, Chinese, Portuguese and Russian. The opinions expressed in the journals do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Government. Articles may be reproduced and translated outside the United States unless there are specific copyright restrictions cited on the article.

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Editor, U..S. Society & Values
Society and Values - I/TSV 301 4th Street SW
Washington, D.C. 20547
United States of America

[email protected]

Publisher..........................Judith S. Siegel
Editor.............................William Peters
Managing Editor....................Michael J. Bandler
Associate Editors..................Charlotte Astor
                 ..................Guy Olson
Contributing Editors...............Dick Custin
                 ..................Anne Sue Hirshom
                 ..................Chandley McDonald
                 ..................Rosalie Targonski
Art Director/Graphic Designer......Thaddeus A. Miskinski, Jr.
Graphics Assistant.................Sylvia Scott
Internet Editor....................Wayne Hall
Reference and Research.............Mary Ann V. Gamble
                 ..................Kathy Spiegel

                  Editorial Board

Howard Cincotta...John Davis Hamill...Judy S. Siegel

U.S. Society & Values
USIA Electronic Journal, Vol. 3, No. 1, June 1998