15222. CONTROVERSY OVER THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S FUNDING OF THE ARTS. This paper looks at the controversy stirred by the National Endowment for the Arts' funding of exhibitions of works by Robert Mapplethorpe and Andres Serrano, and the subsequent ruling that the NEA must consider "general standards of decency" when granting awards. Despite such problems, it is argued that the government should continue to fund the arts. 5 pages, 18 footnotes, 4 bibliographic references.