The perfect moment : God, sex, art, and the birth of America's culture wars / Isaac Butler.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Butler, Isaac, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Politics and culture--United States--History.

Politics and culture.

Christianity and politics--United States--History.

Christianity and politics.

Culture conflict--United States--History.

Culture conflict.

Censorship--United States.

Censorship.

Art--Political aspects.

Art.

Conservatives--United States--History.

Conservatives.

United States--Politics and government--History.

United States.

Physical Description:

xxxii, 348 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm

Other Title:

God, sex, art, and the birth of America's culture wars

Place of Publication:

New York : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2026.

Summary:

"It's 1988, the final year of the Reagan presidency, and the curtain is closing on the Cold War. In the absence of external adversaries, the American public is on the precipice of war with itself. The religious right, newly ascendant and emboldened, is determined to seize control of America's future. And the first battles will be fought over, of all things, contemporary art. In The Perfect Moment, cultural historian Isaac Butler reexamines this pivotal, misunderstood American era. Archconservatives like Jesse Helms, Pat Buchanan, and Pat Robertson fixed their sights on artists including Andres Serrano, Robert Mapplethorpe, David Wojnarowicz, and Karen Finley, capitalizing on the provocative politics of their work to stir a nascent evangelical coalition into moral panic. It was at this moment, Butler argues, that the far right perfected the tactics it still uses today to whip its base into frenzy-from banning books and sanitizing American history, to spreading medical misinformation. All too relevant today, The Perfect Moment is an incisive and meticulously researched account of this crucial period and a stirring ode to the power of the creative spirit."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Curtain speech: The American experiment at war with itself

Ent'racte: Get the books out!

Act I: Dirty pictures. Oh, freedom, over me

Meet me at the foot of the cross

The sacred and profane art machine

The scales of our worth

The perfect moment

Serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value

Bear witness

There is no sin in Cincinnati; or, in which Dennis Barrie is fucked

Act II: Unspeakable acts. A dog without warning

Three trials...

... And a lawsuit

The vision thing

Soft power

Cue the rhinoceros

The shocking thing you do

The grand finale

Epilogue: Again as farce

Curtain call.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781639733491

1639733493

OCLC:

1564121203