Art and imperium.

Art, so commonly invoked as a peaceful pursuit, has been a battle zone in the public sphere since 1990 in particular. The debate on public funding for the arts has taken a peculiar turn. That is why there is every danger that the National Endowment for the Arts, and other agencies like it, will disappear, and soon. The recent protests about the content of art in the U.S., coming from both the right and the left, have a recognizable imperial ring to them. Imperial culture is more and more given over to the vagaries of gossip and scandal.