I military designers borrowed from the cubist art of Picasso to create more effective camouflage patterns. Art also supports business through its impact upon a community's quality of life. Some years ago, the newspaper Midlands of England carried an article about the lack of punctuality of the bus service between the towns of Bagnall and Greenfields. Long lines of would be passengers would build up at each stop. Now as any successful business leader can tell you, keeping to schedule is an important element of customer service but it doesn't necessarily guarantee customer satisfaction.
Successful businesses do more than simply pass through a community.
After all we share communities with some pretty important people who impact our families, our business and our own lives. We have a vested interest in living in an area where the quality of life attracts the very best employees, customers, suppliers and government, academic and civic leaders. It is inconceivable that such quality can exist wherever the arts are silent. There's a third, much more practical reason why business benefits from its contributions to the arts. For every dollar spent on the arts in America, approximately four dollars flows back into the local community in the form of restaurant, hotel, retail and transportation business.