Survey Finds Wide Support for Bush Stance on the NEA : Opinion: Survey also found that 93% of Americans believe the public has a right to view controversial artworks.

The year-old controversy over artistic freedom and the National Endowment for the Arts has captured the American consciousness to an extent actors in the debate may not have thought possible, a new national survey released Thursday appears to show.

The new survey--of 1,200 people questioned at random by telephone between March 14 and 26--shows that in the fight over whether Congress should place controls on the content of artworks the NEA may support, 61% support the NEA and the Bush Administration, which oppose the restrictions.

The survey also found that 93% of Americans believe the public has a right to view controversial artworks and 80% disagree with the contention that nudity in art is usually pornographic.

However, a majority of respondents--53%--agreed that art should be censored if it offends a majority of people and 86% said art galleries should notify parents if work they display is unsuitable for viewing by children. A total of 74% agreed that censorship in general “is not the American way” and 81% opposed laws limiting freedom of artistic expression.

The poll was sponsored by the liberal People for the American Way group and conducted by Research & Forecasts Inc., a New York opinion survey consultant.

With support for federal government funding of the arts holding steady at about 2-to-1--nearly the same ratio as in a similar poll conducted by The Times last fall--the new survey results show that the months of controversy over arts funding in Washington and elsewhere has attracted the attention of a majority of Americans.

While three quarters of a sample of 2,217 Americans last September said they had never heard of the controversy, 57% now say they are familiar with it. Moreover, the political battle has boosted the arts endowment’s name recognition rate to 76%--the same proportion familiar with the endowment’s key congressional opponent, Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.).

Only 30% of the respondents in the new nationwide poll believe government funding for avant garde art should be stopped because some of it is controversial, and 66% disagreed with the contention that Congress should cut off funding for controversial art projects or shows.

The new opinion poll was released simultaneously at press briefings in Washington and Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, People for the American Way also announced a newspaper advertising campaign intended to target Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Lomita), a leader of anti-arts endowment forces in the House.

Full-page advertisements--depicting an empty picture frame over the headline “Is This the Only Kind of Art Rep. Rohrabacher Would Be Happy With?”--are to be placed in several Southern California newspapers, said Michael Hudson, Western vice-president of People for the American Way.

Rohrabacher criticized the People for the American Way poll, contending that “many of the questions were worded in a way that had no relationship to the battle that’s going on over the NEA.” Rohrabacher took issue with the poll’s focus on censorship. “If someone asks me if I’m in favor of censorship,” Rohrabacher said, “I emphatically say, ‘No.’ ”

Helms did not respond to requests for comment. The NEA also declined to comment.

“Americans overwhelmingly reject censorship of the arts and support the NEA,” Hudson said. “Rep. Rohrabacher has taken the leading role in the House calling for the abolishment of the NEA. If we are to win this battle, we must energize and mobilize the creative community here in Los Angeles.”

The new survey also found that:

* Attendance at arts events is more popular than going to live sporting events nationwide, with 72% of respondents reporting attending arts events in the last year compared to 53% who went to sporting events. Arts attendance averaged six events per year compared to 4.1 for sports.

* A total of 68% endorse the concept of government funding of the arts, with 30% opposed and 2% unsure. However, 60% also agreed that the NEA should be held responsible for the content of artworks it supports and a slim majority--51%--agreed that artists who get government grants should “sign an oath regarding the content of their art.”

* The arts endowment had a higher positive opinion rating than Helms--30% versus 11%. A total of 69% disagreed with the notion that the NEA is a waste of taxpayers’ money and 83% agreed with the statement that the NEA “serves a very useful purpose for American society.”

* Nearly a quarter of respondents favor increasing the NEA budget--$171 million this year--and 56% favor keeping budget levels as they are. Only 13% advocated cutting NEA funding.

The poll sample had an average age of 40. It was 52% female and 48% male. The sample was split almost evenly among Republicans, Democrats and people who identified themselves as independent. Research & Forecasts said the poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3%.