James Oliver, in Key Issues in the Arts and Entertainment Industry, assessed the situation with arts funding in broad terms. He claimed: "Traditionally, public funds have been a key issue, not just in broadening the public scope and range of access and participation (including the training of artists), but also a sector of sustainability, under the broad rubric of public good."
Today, acquisition of public funding became one of the most problematic aspects of arts management. Governmental support for the arts is often insufficient, preventing the progress and development of the industry as a whole, as well as in separate establishments that are unable to adapt to the changing social demands and circumstances due to the lack of funds. More …show more content…
Furthermore, in the discussion of the problem of the arts being trapped between the two systems – legal and social – Dena Shottenkirk emphasises what, in her opinion, becomes the biggest problem with public …show more content…
For instance, Shottenkirk underlines this particular problem in her discussion NEA policy in the United States: “To choose to fund something is to choose to have the government say something. This is necessary to have viewpoint discrimination. Therefore, any funding necessarily involves viewpoint discrimination.” The discrimination that Dena outlines in her argument refers to the biased understanding of what is “decent” and what is “obscene” art, which clearly undermines the freedom of expression, according to the statement of the First Amendment. The are various examples throughout the history of NEA, which demonstrate the injustice towards newer or more controversial forms of art, which followed the NEA grants for Andres Serrano in 1989 which became known as an example of “obscene” art at the time. The case is described in Academe by Ann H. Franke: “Karen Finley filed a suit to challenge the statutory requirement that the NEA fund only art that is decent. Congress enacted this provision in 1990 in direct response to raging controversies over NEA grants supporting photographic works by Robert Mapplethorpe and Andres Serrano.” These cases significantly influenced the whole attitude towards public funding among the artists, creating obstacles to development in the industry. Clearly, the factor of ‘decency’ is insufficient in the assessment of artistic value, as discussed above – the art cannot
Today, acquisition of public funding became one of the most problematic aspects of arts management. Governmental support for the arts is often insufficient, preventing the progress and development of the industry as a whole, as well as in separate establishments that are unable to adapt to the changing social demands and circumstances due to the lack of funds. More …show more content…
Furthermore, in the discussion of the problem of the arts being trapped between the two systems – legal and social – Dena Shottenkirk emphasises what, in her opinion, becomes the biggest problem with public …show more content…
For instance, Shottenkirk underlines this particular problem in her discussion NEA policy in the United States: “To choose to fund something is to choose to have the government say something. This is necessary to have viewpoint discrimination. Therefore, any funding necessarily involves viewpoint discrimination.” The discrimination that Dena outlines in her argument refers to the biased understanding of what is “decent” and what is “obscene” art, which clearly undermines the freedom of expression, according to the statement of the First Amendment. The are various examples throughout the history of NEA, which demonstrate the injustice towards newer or more controversial forms of art, which followed the NEA grants for Andres Serrano in 1989 which became known as an example of “obscene” art at the time. The case is described in Academe by Ann H. Franke: “Karen Finley filed a suit to challenge the statutory requirement that the NEA fund only art that is decent. Congress enacted this provision in 1990 in direct response to raging controversies over NEA grants supporting photographic works by Robert Mapplethorpe and Andres Serrano.” These cases significantly influenced the whole attitude towards public funding among the artists, creating obstacles to development in the industry. Clearly, the factor of ‘decency’ is insufficient in the assessment of artistic value, as discussed above – the art cannot