The National Endowment for the Arts is often accused of embodying a
liberal agenda within the American government. In
Federalizing
the Muse, Donna Binkiewicz assesses the leadership and goals of
Presidents Kennedy through Carter, as well as Congress and the
National Council on the Arts, drawing a picture of the major
players who created national arts policy. Using presidential
papers, NEA and National Archives materials, and numerous
interviews with policy makers, Binkiewicz refutes persisting
beliefs in arts funding as part of a liberal agenda by arguing that
the NEA's origins in the Cold War era colored arts policy with a
distinctly moderate undertone.
Binkiewicz's study of visual arts grants reveals that NEA officials
promoted a modernist, abstract aesthetic specifically because they
believed such a style would best showcase American achievement and
freedom. This initially led them to neglect many contemporary art
forms they feared could be perceived as politically problematic,
such as pop, feminist, and ethnic arts. The agency was not able to
balance its funding across a variety of art forms before facing
serious budget cutbacks. Binkiewicz's analysis brings important
historical perspective to the perennial debates about American art
policy and sheds light on provocative political and cultural issues
in postwar America.