that audience members were endangered." That story was picked up by the Associated Press and quickly made national headlines. The then-widespread anxiety about AIDS combined with a shocked reaction from those unfamiliar with S&M-related art: some critics and lawmakers, including Jesse Helms, falsely described his performances as exposing audience members to HIV-infected blood. Although this 1994 performance was supported only indirectly (via the Walker Center) by $150 from the National Endowment for the Arts, Athey's name was frequently invoked in criticism of the NEA. Athey was not alone in this: performance artists Tim Miller, John Fleck, Karen Finley and Holly Hughes would later become the NEA Four as they fought a case regarding funding for their work before the Supreme Court. Unlike these other artists, Athey has never applied for federal funds to support his work. Nevertheless, the controversy over this incident shaped public perception of his work. In a 2015 Artist Op-Ed for the Walker Art Center, the artist writes that he was "more or less blacklisted" from U.S. arts venues until 2005, when he and Snapper staged Judas Cradle at REDCAT in Los Angeles. His 2014 performance of Sebastiane'' at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles was his first performance inside an American museum. References External links Ron Athey Official Site Podcast Interview with Juliana Snapper, discussing her work with Ron Athey Catherine Gund and Catherine Saalfield, Hallelujah! Ron Athey: A Story of Deliverance 1961 births American performance artists Body art American gay artists Living people People with HIV/AIDS Performance art in Los Angeles People from Groton, Connecticut LGBT people from Connecticut Artists from Connecticut