Throughout the history of mankind, a portion of the population has felt the need to remove or suppress material that they consider to be morally, politically, or otherwise objectionable, such as artworks, books, films, or other materials, and what they are really trying to take away is the artists right to be creative and expressive. Censorship can be dated back to ancient Greek and Roman times. Some of the works of art and literature that were considered taboo a long time ago are widely available in modern day life. William Shakespeare, Michelangelo, John Lennon, Diego Rivera, and the Venus de Milo were all thought to be morally wrong or offensive at one time or another. In the twentieth century, censorship has gone to more extreme measures by involving the government and legal system. .
In 1998, the United States Supreme Court was faced with deciding whether a provision of the National Foundation of the Arts and the Humanities Act was constitutional or whether it violated the First Amendment rights of artists applying for grants. The National Endowment of the Arts is the federal agency responsible for providing funding for various artists and arts groups such as museums, theater, and dance groups. Section 5D of the Act says that the Chairperson of the National Endowment of the Arts shall ensure that when reviewing funding applications that consideration be given to "general standards of decency and respect for the diverse beliefs and values of the American public"(Hale). This provision is commonly known as the "decency and respect" clause. .
In the case of Finley v. National Endowment for the Arts, Karen Finley, a performance artist, applied for funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. "Finley, a performance artist, was made famous by one of her stage routines in which she smeared her nude body with chocolate cake frosting to symbolize the defilement of women" (Hale). Her performance was viewed as having homosexual and erotic overtones.
