Yin and Yang grind against each other,
The elements completed,
Engraved in pairs;
As if existing,
As if not existing.
Since 1935 the Internal Revenue Service has permitted deductions from corporate net income before taxes of up to five percent for contributions to charitable, educational and cultural activities which have been established as tax-exempt.1 During the late sixties businesses were rallied by individual business leaders into putting more of that tax-deductable money into the arts. (In 1965) the Associated Councils of the Arts and (in 1967) the Business Committee for the Arts were created for this purpose. The spirit behind this could be summed up by this statement by David Rockefeller:
. . . Projects involving the arts are not just a kind of fluffy periphery of American life. They are an integral part of the solutions to the problems that face our country today. It is sadly evident that our cultural attainments have not kept pace with improvements in other fields. As people's incomes have risen, a proportionate share has not been devoted to artistic and intellectual pursuits. As leisure has increased, so has the amount of time given to unproductive and aimless activities. Corporations genuinely concerned about their environment cannot evade responsibility for seeing that there are more opportunities for a rewarding use of leisure time such as the arts provide.2
Doubting the magnitude of the sun's brightness;
Enduring thus, grieving, grieving.
The arts have become a smart investment by corporations, of their tax-deductible dollars, particularly when it enhances the image the corporation wishes to project. When one goes to hear the symphony and thumbs through the program one sees tax-deductible advertisements usually from hotels, restaurants, banks, and marketers of luxury items. In this case the arts are providing them visibility in a very targeted market. The use of advertising attracts sponsors for public television, radio programs, and any arts organization that has a large enough audience to provide a significant market for the corporation.
1 Gingrich, Arnold; Business and the Arts; 1969.
2 Ibid.