Political Art

We discuss the plans for rebuilding at ground zero in Lower Manhattan, and the debates surrounding those plans. Goldberger says idealism met cynicism at ground zero, and so far they have battled to a draw. His new book is Up from Zero: Politics, Architecture, and the Rebuilding of New York.

A Bush apointee, Frohnmayer ran the National Endowment for the Arts from 1989 until last May, when he was asked to resign. Frohnmayer was routinely attacked by the religious right for giving grants to what it deemed "obscene" art. He also angered many who thought he didn't question enough the administration's pandering to the right. Since his resignation, he's become a strong advocate for the First Amendment.

Stephanie Barron curated of a new exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art called "Degenerate Art: The Fate of the Avant Garde in Nazi Germany." It recreates an exhibit the Nazis put together in 1937 to show the German public the types of art that they would no longer tolerate.

Shawn co-starred in and co-wrote the movie, "My Dinner With Andre," and also appeared in "Manhattan," "The Princess Bride," and "Radio Days." Now Shawn is performing a one-man monologue called "The Fever," about a well-to-do man coming to grips with the world's poverty.

Artist David Wojnarowicz (voy-nah-ro-vich). His work has twice been the cause of controversy, once, when a political essay accompanying his work caused the NEA to suspend funding to a gallery, and more recently, when a conservative organization excerpted parts of his work to dramatize what it calls pornographic art. Wojnarowicz is now suing that organization for copyright infringement and libel.

Soviet-born artists Vitaly Komar and Aleksandr Melamid. The pair are the creators of two huge, multi-paneled works called "Yalta 1945" and "Winter in Moscow 1977." Both works are being shown in America for the first time at the Brooklyn Museum. "Yalta 1945" is made of 31 4x4 foot panels depicting Lenin and the four leaders from the Yalta Conference. "Winter in Moscow 1977" uses 26 panels to show Komar and Melamid's home town shortly before they fled to the West. (The exhibit runs until June 4th).

Keith Haring, whose playful and colorful artwork has made him one of the most successful contemporary artists. His work can be found in amusement parks, discos, T-shirts, and the subways, where he first got his start.

The artist's iconic LOVE statue can be see in Philadelphia's JFK plaza. Indiana, now based in Maine, tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross about the trajectory of his career as a literary painter to a socially-conscious sculptor.