Date: Sat, 01 Mar 1997 02:24:58 -0600
From: Wayne B Youngblood <youngblood-AT-apex.net>
Subject: Re: low vs high


G*rd*n wrote:
> 
> Wess B Youngblood:
> > I see the Ebonics debate as a symbol of lobrow art battling highbrow.
> > Robert Williams, Crumb, and other underground artists may finally get the respect they deserve in the established art world.
> 
> The lowbrow position in this one (that Black English
> Vernacular was not a language, and should not be
> recognized in schools, etc.) was authoritarian and
> therefore uninteresting.  Cracker-barrel authoritari-
> anism is not very much fun; authority is exciting
> only when it dresses up in nice uniforms, and then
> only in the movies.  The highbrow position (as
> earnestly recited by ignored linguists) was not
> much more interesting, although it had the virtue
> of a possessing a little science.
>   Not quite what I meant. I see schoolhouse english synonamous 
w/highbrow art. Thier both highly respected, and considered 
cultured(imagine using  black slang in a job interview). On the other 
side of the spectrum, you have black english, which I feel is related to 
the lowbrow. You see highbrow art in galleries, lowbrow on album covers. 
You hear grammer in schools, black slang on the street. 
their(lowbrow/black english) just as valid as highbrow art/correct 
english. I predict the ebonics debate will stir up the art world as 
well.
wess


     --- from list avant-garde-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---