A new court ruling is being hailed as a major free-speech victory for artists - at least in theory. But partisans on both sides of the issue say it doesn't mean the National Endowment for the Arts will have to tear up its canvas and alter its new, conservative design.
The federal arts agency, long a target of the religious right and congressional conservatives, has become a hotbed of controversy in this election year.On Tuesday, a federal judge in Los Angeles struck down as unconstitutional the decency standard mandated for the NEA by Congress. U.S. District Judge A. Wallace Tashima rejected the Bush administration's argument that the standard was needed to help determine which artists should receive grants from a limited pool of money.
Tashima, ruling in a lawsuit by four performance artists denied grants, said the "general standards of decency" clause violated the First and Fifth amendments to the Constitution by being too broadly worded and too vague.
Then-NEA Chairman John Frohnmayer vetoed performance artist grants in June 1990 for Tim Miller of Santa Monica, Calif., Holly Hughes and Karen Finely of New York and John Fleck of Los Angeles.
Finley has appeared partially nude and spread chocolate on her body to symbolize the degradation of women; Hughes concentrates on lesbian issues; Fleck has appeared naked and during one performance urinated on stage; and Miller's performances focus on homosexuality and AIDS.
But last November, Frohnmayer granted $8,000 fellowships to Miller and Hughes.
The White House fired Frohnmayer in February after Bush's challenger in the Republican primaries, Patrick Buchanan, attacked the NEA for funding "filthy" art.
Artists and civil libertarians praised Tuesday's court decision as a victory of art over political pressure. Conservatives said it was illogical and likely to be overturned on appeal.
Both sides agreed the ruling won't stop the conservative trend set in motion this spring by the new acting chairwoman of the NEA, Anne-Imelda Radice.