Congressional Support For The Arts During The Bush Administration
Abstract
In 1988, the Institute for the Contemporary Gallery of Art used a $30,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to exhibit art works by the photographer, Robert Mapplethorpe. Unfortunately for the art world and for the NEA, the exhibit contained several homoerotic and sadomasochistic photographs as well as sexually questionable photographs involving children. The content of the exhibit was' enough to stir up trouble, but the fact that it was funded by the federal government and the American taxpayer was enough to spark a controversy that has not yet been quelched. While the museum and its director were being indicted on charges of pandering obscenity and the "illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material," the museum had record-breaking attendance, Mapplethorpe's photographs became very expensive, and Congress exploded in debate over the use of tax dollars to fund such an offensive exhibit (Zuckman, 1140).
As if that were not bad enough, additional "offensive" exhibits funded by the NEA began to be publicized. It was discovered, for example, that a $15,000 NEA grant funded an exhibit by Serrano which included a photograph of Jesus on the cross in a jar of urine (CQ Weekly, 922, 1990). Scandals like these sent the NEA reeling, and resulted in a national debate about the role of government in the arts.
The question of what role government should play (if any) in supporting the arts is not new, but this time a battle began in Congress which questioned the notion of any government support of the arts, and whether the government could realistically reject sponsoring "offensive" art without engaging in censorship. The question my research seeks to answer is "what factors influence Congressional voting behavior on arts policy?" As a background to my own research, in parts I and II of this thesis I will trace the history of United States government involvement in the arts and give possible explanations for the explosive controversy and vehement Congressional debates which took place between 1989 and 1991.
Description
Program year: 1992/1993Digitized from print original stored in HDR
Citation
Terry, Jana Kaye (1993). Congressional Support For The Arts During The Bush Administration. University Undergraduate Fellow. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /CAPSTONE -TerryJ _1993.