© Andres Serrano, courtesy the artist and Yvon Lambert

In the late '80s, conservatives criticized the NEA for funding an exhibition that included Andres Serrano's "Piss Christ" (1987).

Robert Mapplethorpe Andres Serrano Dealer Holly Solomon’s Papers Headed to Smithsonian Patti Smith Fans Storm Mapplethorpe Opening Urban Attraction Censorship at Social Justice Exhibition? Texas Senator Voices NEA Concerns Auction Action: 1989–1998

Send a letter to the Editor

Save to Del.icio.us Digg this

In several different appearances last week on Fox News, personalities including Greta Van Susteren, Glenn Beck, and the Wall Street Journal's Stephen Moore singled out projects that received funds from the NEA's $80 million share of President Obama's $787 billion stimulus package, calling them "immoral," "porn," and "pervert reviews."

"Well, you know, we have been talking in recent weeks about the obscenity over federal spending," said Moore. "This is literally obscene overspending."

What the commentators fail to mention is that each of the outlets they criticize also received NEA funding under President George W. Bush.

An example of the criticized groups is CounterPULSE, a San Francisco nonprofit that supports "community-based art" and was accused of spending $25,000 on a weekly production of "Perverts Pan Out," a pansexual performance series. CounterPULSE counters that the money will actually be used to "preserve jobs at our small nonprofit."

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, conservatives such as commentator Pat Buchanan and the late Sen. Jesse Helms criticized the NEA for funding exhibitions that presented Andres Serrano's photograph Piss Christ, which features a crucifix submerged in the artist's urine, and photographer Robert Mapplethorpe's S&M-influenced imagery, ultimately leading to a significant reduction in the endowment's budget.

Read more at Mediamatters.org.