Legislating Creativity

<p>How does political policy-making shape the creative activities of artists? Do the political interests of artists influence actual political practices in any way? <em>Legislating Creativity</em> examines the relationship between art and politics through an analysis of controversial art projects tied to the National Endowment for the Arts during the Culture Wars (late 1980s-1990s). Though there have always been tensions in government funding for the arts these controversies intensified the public debates surrounding art/politics and remain as a focal point in conversations that continue today. The book focuses on three case studies: Mapplethorpe's controversial photography an exhibit on the impact of AIDS entitled <em>Witnesses</em> and the Guerrilla Girls. Dustin Kidd has provided a thoroughly enriching look at the intersections of art and politics—the ways that political practices transform creative expression and the ways that artistic drives shape political policies. </p>