Americans for the Arts

This book is intended to serve as a basic reference for any type of public relations activity, whether volunteer, part time, or full time.

This report provides a nationwide snapshot of challenges to artistic free expression in America during 1992 and 1993. Together, the incidents offer a unique picture of the many issues confronting both artists and the viewing public. These pages also provide analysis and insight into the complex political, social and cultural forces creating pressure in communities across the nation to mute artistic expression. The hundreds of incidents documented here send three important warning signals: controversies over art are proliferating at the local level; the attacks come from across the political

This report examines efforts of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Justice Department to prosecute distributors of obscene materials. This report includes a history of the Justice Department, which started as an offshoot of the controversial Meese Commission, provides examples of the Unit's unconstitutional activities and discusses the broad First Amendment implications of its attacks.

This guide is divided into two parts, Basic Guidelines discusses use of graphic components available to the designer. Two Prototypic Organizations illustrates how these guidelines can be applied to a broad range of communications by two very different nonprofit organizations.

The author examines Senator Jesse Helms' proposed 1989 amendment to the appropriations bill for the National Endowment for Arts, which would bar federal funds from being used by the NEA and other federal agencies and institutions to support the creation, performance, or exhibition of materials, which might be considered obscene. The author also examines the trial that resulted from the exhibition of the Robert Mapplethorpe's exhibition at the Cincinnati's Contemporary Arts Center. The museum's director was indicated by a grand jury for pandering obscenity and improper use of a minor in a

The incidents listed in this report document challenges to artistic expression across the during the calendar year 1994. The controversies involve virtually all forms of visual art (drawings, paintings, sculpture, photography, and mixed-media) as well as such narrative forms as plays and performance art. Film and television works are included only when they were presented in a non-commercial format and/or were the recipient of federal arts funding.

Drawing on close readings of government-funded architecture, murals, plays, writing, and photographs, Democratic Art argues that those engaged in New Deal art were part of an explicitly cultural agenda that sought not just to create art but to democratize and Americanize it as well. By tracing a range of aesthetic visions that flourished during the 1930s, this brand new book outlines the successes, shortcomings, and lessons of the golden age of government funding for the arts.

"......the ART in Embassies Program and the Center for Arts & Culture -- a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan, cultural policy think tank -- organized a panel discussion, Art as Diplomacy: 21st Century Challenges, which addressed the impacts of cultural exchange and how to effectively incorporate the arts and culture in current U.S. government public diplomacy efforts." [p. 2]

Based on tested and revised procedures and sample forms from both commercial and nonprofit art galleries, this handbook covers basic information that has proven practical and effective in diverse situations. The handbook was planned primarily for non-profit art galleries, but the principles address the commercial gallery or small museum as well. It is intended to serve as a guide.

This book contains 23 sections, which include the following sections:

• The Economic Impact
• Visitors Characteristics
• Purchasing Behaviour
• Copyright

The meaning and value of cultural diversity in America are not topics open to purely objective or theoretical assessment. Nobody enjoys a truly global view and no one can claim to speak from a totally disinterested vantage point. Whites, in particular, must be careful to avoid any such pretense, since in too many cases it means that they are passing judgment on the personal testimony of non-whites without accounting for their own experience or clearly establishing their everyday perspective on the social realities involved. (from abstract)

Single-subject multiple probe designs were employed in two studies with 5 young adults who had a dual diagnosis of mental retardation and mental illness. The aim was to determine effects of instruction designed to teach visual arts activity skills and promote personal expressiveness on acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of these skills and behaviors associated with these persons' mental health.

The author explores the First Amendment aspects of the content restrictions on the grant-making process and other constitutional issues raised by the NEA controversy.

The author examines the relationship between artists and the social control of the state when the state supports them. He looks at the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the 1930s and the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) in the 1970s-1980s.

The author examines the practical workings of the art museum. This careful study discusses the influences of such factors as humidity and expertise on the organization and appearance of museums.