The ongoing efforts of government officials and self-appointed guardians of public morality to control the content of art and public speech have exposed deep divisions in American's beliefs about artistic value and freedom of expression. [This book is the first] to document these turbulent and disturbing debates in detail, in the worlds of the artists, legislators, lobbyists, and critics themselves.

This board selection of superheated commentary covers the crucial period from 1989 to 1991, and includes the most important testimony to Senate and to House subcommittees, mass mailing by outraged fundamentalists, artists' testimony, correspondence, op-ed pieces, and much more. [This book] shows what has been at stake at each stage of the crisis, and what the dominant assumptions have been throughout about the nature of art and culture, and about the proper roles of politics and government funding. (Book cover).

CONTENTS
Preface by Philip Brookman.
Introduction by Richard Bolton.
Part 1 - Readings.
Part 2 - Illustrations.
Part 3 - Chronology by Debra Singer and Philip Brookman.

The ongoing efforts of government officials and self-appointed guardians of public morality to control the content of art and public speech have exposed deep divisions in American's beliefs about artistic value and freedom of expression. [This book is the first] to document these turbulent and disturbing debates in detail, in the worlds of the artists, legislators, lobbyists, and critics themselves.