President Obama Commends 2014 National Medal of Arts Honorees for 'Sharing Rare Truths'

In case you missed today's live-stream of President Barack Obama presenting the 2014 National Medals of Arts, read his full opening remarks from the afternoon ceremony below!

The National Medal of Arts is the highest award given to artists and arts patrons by the United States government and is awarded by the President of the United States to individuals or groups who "...are deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support and availability of the arts in the United States."

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"Thank you, everybody. Please have a seat, have a seat. (Applause.) I always do pretty good with writers and scientists. (Laughter.) That's sort of my crew.

Hello, everybody. On behalf of Michelle and myself, welcome to the White House for one of our favorite events of the year -- love this event -- when truly extraordinary artists and innovators and thinkers are recognized for their brilliance while the rest of us look on and feel totally inadequate. (Laughter.)

I want to start by thanking a few members of our audience who help sustain the arts and the humanities in America. We have members of Congress here. We have National Endowment for the Arts Chairman, Jane Chu. Where's Jane? There she is. (Applause.) The National Endowment for the Humanities Chairman, Bro Adams, is here. (Applause.) And the co-chairs of the Presidential Committee on Arts and Humanities, George Stevens and Margo Lion. (Applause.)

One of our great poets, Emily Dickinson, once said that "truth is such a rare thing, it is delightful to tell it." The truth is so rare, it is delightful to tell it -- and that's especially true in Washington. (Laughter.) The men and women that we honor today, recipients of the National Medals for the Arts and the Humanities, are here not only because they've shared rare truths, often about their own experience, but because they've told rare truths about the common experiences that we have as Americans and as human beings.

They span mediums and methods. We have artists, actors, writers, musicians, historians, a landscape architect, and a chef. Without them there would be no Edible Schoolyard, no Jhumpa Lahiri novels, no really scary things like Carrie and Misery. (Laughter.)

They are versatile -- poets and opera singers who were also master teachers at liberal arts colleges and Detroit public schools; philosophers who wrote novels. They are visual artists who work filling pages that spilled over to screens, three-dimensional gallery floors, and most of a New York City block.

And they all have one thing in common: They do what they do because of some urgent inner force, some need to express the truth that they experience, that "rare truth." And as a result, they help us understand ourselves in ways that we might not otherwise recognize. They deepen and broaden our great American story and the human story.

So we celebrate writers like Larry McMurtry, who grew up on a Texas ranch without books but went on to pen a multitude of memoirs and essays, more than 30 novels, and co-wrote screenplays for films like Brokeback Mountain. He wrote about the Texas he knew from his own life, and then the old West as he heard it through the stories of his grandfather's -- on his grandfather's porch. And in "Lonesome Dove," the story of two ex-Texas Rangers in the 19th century, readers found out something essential about their own souls, even if they'd never been out West or been on a ranch.

We celebrate historians like Everett Fly, who studied to become both a building and landscape architect, and who got his start studying forgotten African American towns and communities. Deep in the stacks of the National Archives, he encountered a map of a Freedman's village that is now Arlington National Cemetery, which inspired him to research further. "Once I got to the National Archives and saw all of those records," Everett says, "I knew I just had to keep on working." And because he kept on working, we have come to know some 1,300 African American and Native American towns and structures across our country.

We celebrate incomparable musicians like Meredith Monk, who has been making music with the instrument of her voice for 50 years. Her singular blend of harmonies, yowls, rasps have punctuated concert halls and films, as well as the performances of her fellow recipients here today. I've been in fashion and out of fashion, she says -- I can relate to that. (Laughter.) I just keep on trucking along. "It's an inner necessity to work, and that's not going to change. I need to create." I need to create.

I suspect those are words that every honoree here has felt throughout their lives. And as individuals, as a nation, we are beneficiaries of that need. Fifty years ago this month, right here at the White House, President Johnson signed the Arts and Humanities Bill into law and created the NEA and the NEH. At the time, he said, "In countless American towns there live thousands of obscure and unknown talents. What this bill really does is to bring active support to this great national asset."

Half a century later -- because of their raw talent, their passion, their need to create, but also because our country invests in the arts and the humanities as great national assets -- some of those once obscure and unknown talents are rightly being recognized. That's what 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. They help us connect.

And, as Emily Dickinson would say, that is the truth. It's delightful to tell. Or, in the words of one of the recipients today, we like you. We really like you. (Laughter.)"

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Per the White House, this year's winners are as follows:

John Baldessari for his contributions as a visual artist. His ambitious work combines photography, painting, and text to push the boundaries of image, making him one of the most influential conceptual artists of our time.

Ping Chong for his contributions as a theater director, choreographer, and video and installation artist. Mr. Chong's innovative performances explore race, history, technology, and art to challenge our understanding of humanity in the modern world.

Miriam Colon for her contributions as an actress. Ms. Colon has been a trailblazer in film, television, and theater, and helped open doors for generations of Hispanic actors.

The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation for supporting creative expression across the country. With generosity and a bold commitment to artistic risk, this foundation has helped artists, musicians, dancers, and actors share their talents, enriching the cultural life of our Nation.

Sally Field for her contributions as an actress and filmmaker. The dignity, empathy, and fearlessness of her performances have touched audiences around the world, and she has deployed those same qualities off-screen in her advocacy for women, LGBT rights, and public health.

Ann Hamilton for her contributions as a visual artist. Ms. Hamilton uses time as process and material, and her work demonstrates the importance of experiencing the arts first-hand in the digital age.

Stephen King for his contributions as an author. One of the most popular and prolific writers of our time, Mr. King combines his remarkable storytelling with his sharp analysis of human nature. For decades, his works of horror, suspense, Science fiction, and fantasy have terrified and delighted audiences around the world.

Meredith Monk for her contributions as a composer, singer, and performer. Renowned for her groundbreaking vocal techniques, Ms. Monk has reimagined the instrument of voice with her innovative work.

George Shirley for his contributions as a tenor. The first African American tenor to sing in a leading role at the Metropolitan Opera, Mr. Shirley has captivated audiences for more than 50 years with his masterful performances. As a pioneer and as a teacher, Mr. Shirley has paved the way for generations of aspiring African American opera singers.

University Musical Society for presenting the performing arts to communities in Michigan. For over a century, the Society has brought world-class orchestras, dance ensembles, jazz performers, and theater companies to Michigan, while supporting the study and creation of new works.

Tobias Wolff for his contributions as an author and educator. His raw works of fiction examine themes of American identity and individual morality. With wit and compassion, Mr. Wolff's work reflects the truths of our human experience.

Photo Credit: Owen Sweeney/Rex

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