The Many Views of Betty Freeman
Music & Visual Art
 Crayon Drawing by David Hockney (February 1, 1994) Photo by Richard Schmidt, courtesy Betty Freeman |
 Betty Freeman with Philip Glass in Los Angeles, 1981 Photo courtesy Betty Freeman |
FRANK J. OTERI: To continue what we were saying about the art world versus the music world. It’s interesting because the art world has a very different economy than the music world.
BETTY FREEMAN: That’s right. They have an object.
FRANK J. OTERI: And we don’t.
BETTY FREEMAN: They have objects they can put on their walls. That’s right, we don’t. That’s where it stops.
FRANK J. OTERI: And it sort of makes things tricky because in music you’re lucky if you get someone, a person, or an organization to commission something, but they commission it before they’ve heard it.
BETTY FREEMAN: I know.
FRANK J. OTERI: As opposed to a painting, which they can buy once they’ve seen.
BETTY FREEMAN: There’s no connection really.
FRANK J. OTERI: And you commission it, but it’s not really yours. You get to hear it but then it belongs to the world.
BETTY FREEMAN: That’s the way I like it.
FRANK J. OTERI: Right, because it is something the entire world can appreciate.
BETTY FREEMAN: The economy depends on other purposes. For the people who are art collectors, it’s important socially.
FRANK J. OTERI: Right.
Happy Birthday!
[...] Memory Day nominee: Betty Freeman, whose philanthropic support of contemporary composers and musicians profoundly influenced world music, and who was a talented photographer in her own [...]