Artistic Freedom and Academic Freedom

The Cincinnati, Ohio, jury surely did the right thing by rejecting obscenity charges against Contemporary Arts Center Director Dennis Barrie following the exhibition of Robert Mapplethorpe's photographs.' Yet a different outcome at that trial might have forced higher courts to consider to what degree the fine arts enjoy protection under the first amendment, an issue that has been curiously neglected in the evolution of freedom of expression. First amendment protection of artistic expression and several related questions affecting both free expression generally and academic freedom in particular deserve more attention than they have received. These questions are the focus of this article.