The Issue: Public Funding for the Arts
Nothing in the U.S. Constitution requires the government to spend taxpayer dollars to fund artistic expression. If the government chooses to fund the arts, however, it must do so in a manner consistent with the First Amendment, i.e. funding decisions cannot be based on whether the government agrees with the message being expressed in the art. Were this not the case, government officials could use taxpayer dollars to fund only those projects that support their views. Yet government funds are not infinite; obviously, every request for arts funding cannot be granted. As such, government agencies must have some discretion in choosing where and how to allocate funds for the arts. Exactly how much and what kind of discretion the government has in making arts funding decisions has been, and continues to be, a topic of passionate debate.
The Case: Brooklyn Institute of Arts And Sciences v. City of New York
A signature feature of artist Chris Ofili's work is the use of natural substances. In his portrait The Holy Virgin Mary, the natural substance was elephant dung. The painting was one piece in the Brooklyn Museum of Art's display of Sensation, a multi-artist exhibition of works drawn from a private collection. Sensation was first shown in 1997 at the Royal Academy of Art in London, where it drew record crowds. The London exhibition also sparked a number of protests due to the provocative nature of several of the show's pieces. In 1999, the controversy crossed the Atlantic when the exhibition moved to the Brooklyn Museum. New York City Mayor Rudolph Guilliani derided the exhibition as "sick stuff," taking particular offense at Ofili's The Holy Virgin Mary. Although no public monies were used to fund Sensation, Mayor Guilliani called for withholding funds designated for the museum's operating expenses and maintenance, as well as evicting it from the city-owned building it leased unless the exhibition was cancelled. In Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences v. City of New York, the federal district court in New York issued a preliminary injunction temporarily preventing the City from taking any action against the museum. The Court issued the injunction because it believed that, when the case was fully litigated, it was likely that that City's proposed actions of withholding funds and evicting the museum in retaliation for hosting Sensation would be seen as an unconstitutional attempt to control the content of the museum's exhibitions. Although appeals and further litigation were initiated, all were subsequently withdrawn following six months of legal negotiations which culminated in an agreement by the City to repay the withheld funds, as well as another $5.8 million for refurbishment to the museum.
http://www.tjcenter.org/ArtOnTrial/funding.html
The Holy Virgin Mary
(mixed media)
by
Chris Ofili
