https://pjmedia.com/rogerkimball/2009/08/11/you-cant-make-it-up-or-havent-we-been-here-before/feed/PJ Media is a leading news site covering culture, politics, faith, homeland security, and more. Our reporters and columnists provide original, in-depth analysis from a variety of perspectives.en-usFri, 12 Jun 2026 05:00:16 -0400<![CDATA[When it comes to the National Endowment for the Arts, it turns out that those are not mutually exclusive possibilities. Back in the 1980s, when the word &#8220;transgressive&#8221; finally entered the lexicon of critical assessment as a term of praise, the NEA was the subject of fierce criticism when it transpired that some of their money &#8212; that is, some of your money &#8212; was going to support such &#8220;transgressive artists&#8221; (that&#8217;s &#8220;perverted weirdos&#8221; in plain English) as Robert Mapplethorpe, Andreas Serrano, Karen Finley, and Annie Sprinkle.]]>Tue, 11 Aug 2009 05:11:44 -0400<![CDATA[Roger Kimball]]>https://pjmedia.com/roger-kimball/2009/08/11/you-cant-make-it-up-or-havent-we-been-here-before-n115976