Controversies over public funding of the arts

In the whole history, artists have been producing art works that have been assessing the decency of the public. The public may respond to these art works with violent opponents and contempt. In the free public communities, artists produce the type of work that their talents, imaginations and ways can support.  The public talks of the question on whether artists have the similar freedom when their art work is funded in the society by the tax payer dollar.  The American high court have highlighted that the government is not needed to fund the artistic show of the public funds. The Court also knows that if it has to give out money for the programs in art, the government will not remove the funding and this will cause the removal of these works as it disagrees with the perspective that is shown in the art. This means that the government has the allowance in deciding which funds to give to the artists and their works, thus it must do this based on the first alteration but not in an unclear standpoint way (Great Britain, 2011).

 The changes to the law was based on some controversial works as given an example of Mapplethorpe disturbance exhibit where the disturbance of its exhibit led to its removal at the Gallery of Art in Washington and to the arrest and sentence of its directors where they were prosecuted of pandering and the vulgarity after they were permitted to open the exhibit. Over the past few decades, wars over the restriction on the financing of taxpayers have faded thus giving ways to fight for those who have been offended by various art works and who have pursued to have their art work eradicated from the public display (Great Britain, 2011).              

Reference

Great Britain. & Great Britain. (2011). Funding of the arts and heritage: Third report of session 2010-11. London: Stationery Office.