Word: nea
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SHOW BUSINESS: Arts groups rebel against the NEA...
...annual grant of support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the new language restricting allowable content sent him on a long, brooding walk. When Los Angeles choreographer Bella Lewitzky received her notice, she just crossed out the offending restrictions against obscenity before signing, a response the NEA would not allow. Media-minded impresario Joseph Papp of New York City's Public Theater wrote an op-ed open letter for the New York Times. The business-minded board of the Oregon Shakespearean Festival, the largest U.S. regional theater, held a private debate that led to a unanimous vote...
...each case, after undergoing the rigorous process of qualifying for NEA money -- and building it into their budgets -- the arts organizations turned the funds down. They could not tolerate the stipulation that Congress added to the NEA's 1990 appropriations: no funded work may involve obscenity, "including, but not limited to, depictions of sadomasochism, homoeroticism, the exploitation of children, or individuals engaged in sex acts." None of those who refused the money produces material that remotely qualifies as obscene. But all of them object to the vague, sweeping language and to the very idea of empowering NEA bureaucrats...
...language was imposed on the NEA as a result of its funding of two photo shows. One involved sexually graphic works by the late Robert Mapplethorpe, the other a depiction by Andres Serrano of a plastic crucifix dunked in the artist's urine. Although many people in the arts community expected the ruckus to be short-lived, a year later it shows no sign of abating. Some liberals question whether Endowment Chairman John Frohnmayer need enforce the new rules so confrontationally: the National Endowment for the Humanities is not requiring recipients to sign any new pledge. But the pressure...
...artists too will need to resist; this means much more organization, never their strong suit. NEA Chairman Frohnmayer says he is dismayed by their slow reaction to the attacks: "I'm not sure there is an arts community out there because they've been silent for such a long time." So far, only two artists seeking grants have refused to sign a letter saying they will abide by the anti-obscenity pledge. (But last week the New School for Social Research filed a suit challenging the restrictions.) The real "silent majority" on this issue is the millions of Americans...