After months of heated public debate over the National Endowment for the Arts' funding of obscene material, four "artists"--including Karen Finley, the woman who covered herself with chocolate--had been denied renewals of their grants. This program

offers a genial and instructive conversation about the whole question of support for the arts. Two samples: WFB: "When you consider that the record of the public critics is so dismal--I mean, Van Gogh couldn't sell a single canvas; ninety obituaries were written about Bach, only two of which mentioned that he also composed music--what makes us feel that the NEA is spurring on the kind of critical judgment that makes us satisfied that the money is being well spent?" SC: "Part of the answer is simple: You never know. But because you do not know, I do not think it is plausible to withdraw patronage, which

in one way or another has been key to the creation of art." .. . TM: "Patronage has always come with strings.... It's unreasonable for an artist today to think that funds that come from the Federal Government won't have some strings attached."