Karen Finley (born 1956 in Chicago) is an American performance artist, whose theatrical pieces and recordings have often been labeled obscene due to their graphic depictions of sexuality, abuse, and disenfranchisement. She was notably one of the NEA Four, four performance artists whose grants from the National Endowment for the Arts were vetoed in 1990 by John Frohnmayer after the process was condemned by Senator Jesse Helms under "decency" issues. Finley is currently a professor at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.
[on the stress of performing:] "I could get attention a lot of other ways. Easier ways. It's so painful. I don't want to perform. Every time, I say, 'Why am I doing this, why didn't I become a veterinarian, why didn't I go the easy way out?' . . . I feel that I have to do it because I don't see many other people who are capable of doing it. I feel that it's my responsibility."
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Fact
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A successful performance artist known as one of the infamous 'NEA Four'; along with John Fleck, Tim Miller and Holly Hughes; whose lawsuit against the National Endowment of the Arts achieved notoriety in the early 90's.
Actress
Title
Year
Status
Character
Karen Finley Live
2004
Video
Karen Finley
12 Rounds
2000
Short
Fresh Kill
1994
Philadelphia
1993
Dr. Gillman
The Genius
1993
Kitty Church
You Killed Me First
1985
Short
Mom
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Karen Finley Live
2004
Video
Thanks
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Debridement of Rome
2012
Short special thanks
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Let the Record Show
2013
Documentary
Herself
Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer
2010
Documentary
Herself - Performance Artist
Thinking XXX
2004
TV Movie documentary
Herself
Lauren Hutton and...
1995
TV Series
Herself
Pranks TV!
1988
Video documentary
Herself
Mondo New York
1988
Documentary
Herself
Known for movies
Philadelphia (1993) as Dr. Gillman
You Killed Me First (1985) as Mom
Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (2010) as Herself - Performance Artist
$8 Million
