Lawyer David Fordyce alleged in a lawsuit against the National Endowment
for the Arts and Chairman John E. Frohnmayer that a $15,000 grant for an
exhibition in Illinois displayed "open and notorious hostility toward
religion." Fordyce represented the Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit
legal services group, in the U.S. District Court action in Washington,
D.C. It cited the NEA's grant last year for "Tongues of Flame," a
display of works by David Wojnarowicz.
Wojnarowicz filed suit in Manhattan Federal District Court charging
Wildmon with illegal use of copyrighted images. The suit also charged
libel in its Wildmon's intent to strip the work and the artist of
artistic and political significance.
