About 12 years ago I was watching MUSE perform Patchwork Quilt. I not only listened but watched as the sound moved around the choir. That performance looked much like the composition of a painting, with notes as color, form, shadow and light, carefully positioned to reflect and support the underlying meaning of the work. I was so touched by the way all the many symbolic interpretations of a patchwork quilt came through in the song all at once.

Conveying meaning is the true beauty of art whether it is music, theatre, movement, visual or writing. In practice it is taking the steps and measures to convey the meaning. In appreciation it is taking meaning from the work for oneself. This explains the many favorite books, movies, CDs and pieces of art we have collected over the years. These become symbols for us of special times, great feelings, powerful philosophies, and more.

The use and interpretation of symbols as notes, tone, color, and shape of sound, movement, words, and paint, in abstract or representative form, transcends the limits of space and time to evoke and promote deeper more meaningful experiences. The arts free the imagination and this is why the arts often are eradicated during times of war, such as when communism overtook China.

This is also why, during times billed as filled with uncertainty, repression and fears of recession, rather than nod understandably while funds for the arts are cut while we curb spending, maybe we should amp up our support for, and even more importantly participation in, the arts.

Consider the potential symbolic meaning of how we might use the promised rebate check. The various economic stimulus packages focus on stimulating the economy by passing out checks earmarked to buy the products of big and small business. However, these checks give us the opportunity to have a profound effect, however local, on present day economic theory by using the money to support the arts.

Investing in the arts by donation, acquisition, or personal enrichment such as taking a class or workshop that frees, strengthens and empowers the imagination is a profound and powerful way to both practice and appreciate the true beauty of the arts.

When we invest in feeding local grass roots and individual artist communities first we positively carry out the economic stimulus in a meaningful way. Rather than trickle down the stimulus will circulate around and stream out through businesses and venues that provide what is needed to continue cultivating creative and meaningful lives in Cincinnati.