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Performance artist Karen Finley on tearing down female tropes

caption: Karen Finley leads a participatory walk for Elastic City.
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Karen Finley leads a participatory walk for Elastic City.

You may know Karen Finley as one of the artists who was denied federal arts funding after the Supreme Court ruled against her in 1998. That decision said the government could strip funding from artists because their work was considered indecent.

Finley is known for her shows that use a variety of unusual props, like glitter, Jello, chocolate syrup, and stuffed animals. She's currently a professor at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and her new book is, "Grabbing Pussy."

Karen Finley, Grabbing Pussy

Ruled indecent in the 1990s and stripped of federal arts funding, Karen Finley’s work is having a moment. Her work about sexism and abuse of women at the hands of men has new resonance in the age of Donald Trump, #metoo, and the policing of Hillary Clinton’s clothing (that hasn’t changed since the 1990s). In a nod to our current political moment, her new book is called Grabbing Pussy.

She reads excerpts form her book, including a piece about Hillary Clinton and the way we look at female political candidates.

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