Belmont Humanities Symposium Journal
Abstract
Art in the 1990s aggressively dealt with sensitive issues about identity and the social order, particularly in regards to race, gender, class, religion, sexual orientation, poverty, and AIDS. The ensuing confrontation in the United States between artists who championed their right to freedom of speech and officials involved in the management of public funds is referred to as the Culture Wars. This proved to be a defining moment in the history of the visual arts. Events associated with the Culture Wars not only ‘liberated’ art from many of its longstanding traditions, they also insisted that artists’ should be absolutely free to voice their views on all manner of social and political and religious issues. This was a pivotal moment in the history of art that laid the groundwork for the diversity apparent in contemporary art today.
Keywords
Humanities Symposium
Recommended Citation
Bullington, Judy
(2011)
"Culture Wars – A Battle for Freedom of Expression in Contemporary Art,"
Belmont Humanities Symposium Journal: Vol. 2, Article 8.
Available at:
https://repository.belmont.edu/humanities_symposium_journal/vol2/iss1/8