Arts, humanities medals awarded
WASHINGTON — It’s not often presidents appear star-struck, but on Wednesday, President Obama sounded giddy surrounded by luminaries including novelist Stephen King and Berkeley chef Alice Waters as he honored them for their contributions to American culture.
“I’m grateful that I’ve gotten promises for at least a couple of signed books,” he said to laughter in the East Room of the White House. “I think Alice said she’s going to cook me something; nothing unethical.”
King, Waters and Oscarwinning actress Sally Field were among 18 people and three organizations that Obama recognized for excellence as he awarded the 2014 National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal.
“They all have one thing in common,” Obama said. “They do what they do because of some urgent, inner force.”
The National Medal of Arts is considered the government’s highest award for artists and arts patrons. The National Humanities Medal honors individuals or groups whose works have deepened the nation’s understanding of the humanities, according to the National Endowment for the Humanities, which, along with the National Endowment for the Arts, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
“We celebrate here today our fellow citizens, from all walks of life, who share their gifts with all of us, who make our lives and our world more beautiful, and richer, and fuller, and I think most importantly, help us understand each other a little bit better,” Obama said. “They help us connect.”
Since the 1960s, Field, who was born in Pasadena, has appeared in a range of TV shows and box office hits, including “Steel Magnolias,” “Mrs. Doubtfire” and “Forrest Gump.” Her numerous awards include best actress Oscars for her roles in “Norma Rae” in 1979 and “Places in the Heart” in 1984.
King, a Maine native, has been called the “master of horror” for such thrillers as “Carrie,” “The Shining” and “Misery.” Hundreds of millions of copies of the author’s stories have been sold and translated into dozens of languages. His work’s many adaptations for the screen have helped make his name nearly synonymous with the horror genre.
“I’m amazed and grateful” for the award, King recently wrote on his Facebook page.
Waters, a longtime proponent of the organic food movement, opened her organic restaurant in Berkeley in 1971. Her Edible Schoolyard Project provides an educational curriculum that promotes nutritious eating and works closely with students at Berkeley’s Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School.
“I am so honored to accept the National Humanities Medal,” she wrote on Twitter.
Other 2014 National Medal of Arts recipients are visual artist John Baldessari of Venice; theater director and artist Ping Chong of New York; Miriam Colón of New York; the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, based in New York; visual artist Ann Hamilton of Columbus, Ohio; singer and composer Meredith Monk of New York; tenor George Shirley of Ann Arbor, Mich.; the University Musical Society, based in Ann Arbor; and author and educator Tobias Wolff of Stanford, Calif.
The additional 2014 National Humanities Medal honorees are historians Vicki Lynn Ruiz of Irvine and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham of Auburndale, Mass.; author Annie Dillard of Key West, Fla.; the Clemente Course in the Humanities, based in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y.; novelist Rebecca Newberger Goldstein of Boston; author and screenwriter Larry McMurtry of Archer City, Texas; architect Everett Fly of San Antonio; author Jhumpa Lahiri of New York; and scholar Fedwa Malti-Douglas of Rhinebeck, N.Y.