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When it was revealed Washington D.C.'s Corcoran Museum of Art was to receive NEA backing for an exhibition of photographs by Mapplethorpe, the right went absolutely berserk. The artist, who'd died of AIDS earlier in '89, had taken sexually explicit pictures of sadomasochistic acts. There were also two shots of children where their genitals were exposed, but the primary objection of the right had everything to do with the public funding of gay art.

When the Corcoran Museum buckled under political pressure, the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center stepped up and hosted the exhibit. The so-called Queen City of Ohio resides in a red corner of the state, and its most bigoted denizens turned out in droves to protest the museum's presentation. This led to a potentially dangerous obscenity trial which should've never been heard in the first place that thankfully shook out in the museum's favor.

Despite these high-profile, would-be scandals, the NEA's budget, though hardly significant in the grand scheme of government spending, continued to rise. The religious right needed another boogeyman, and they found it when Haynes' "Poison" premiered at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival (where it won the Grand Jury Prize).

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The Todd Haynes Poison Controversy Explained: An Indie Classic Goes To The Culture Wars - /Film