Federal Official Seeks Dates of Four Artists’ Shows Back to ’84 : Arts: The General Accounting Office makes the unusual request of two New York facilities. The investigator says Sen. Jesse Helms asked for the data.

Two avant-garde New York City arts organizations have been asked by a federal investigator--who said he was acting at the request of Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.)--to provide information on appearance dates of four specific artists beginning in 1984.

The unusual request was made by the U.S. General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, in telephone calls to the two arts organizations late last week. Officials of the arts groups confirmed the telephone contacts during the weekend.

Involved are the Kitchen Center for Video, Music & Dance and Franklin Furnace Archive Inc. Both organizations have received extensive NEA financial support and are widely viewed as important showcases for cutting-edge work.

In a separate but related development, a federal judge is scheduled to begin hearing testimony this morning in a lawsuit brought by a New York artist against the Rev. Donald Wildmon and the American Family Assn., a right-wing group headed by Wildmon and based in Tupelo, Miss. The Wildmon organization has been instrumental in the ongoing controversy over alleged indecent and sacrilegious work funded by the NEA.

The suit against Wildmon was filed by artist David Wojnarowicz, who contends that Wildmon violated copyrights to his work and defamed him by distributing unauthorized, severely cropped copies of 14 of his images. Both Wojnarowicz and Wildmon are expected to testify in U.S. District Court.

Earlier this year, Helms demanded that the GAO launch an investigation of the endowment for its support of allegedly obscene work. In early June, the GAO delivered a preliminary report exonerating the NEA--specifically finding the endowment technically had not funded a controversial appearance by performance artist Annie Sprinkle at the Kitchen.

Helms branded the GAO finding a “whitewash” at the time. On June 8, The Times reported that, in an apparently related development, the NEA had imposed a unique grant restriction on the Kitchen under which the organization is required to notify the NEA general counsel’s office in advance of every event it schedules. A GAO official, testifying before a House subcommittee, endorsed the restriction.

On Saturday, Martha Wilson, founder and director of Franklin Furnace, and Barbara Tsumagari, executive director of the Kitchen, confirmed that they had been called by a GAO investigator late last week. Wilson and Tsumagari said the investigator, whom they identified as Paul Britner, said Helms had asked for additional information on the two facilities.

Attempts to contact the GAO and Helms during the weekend were unsuccessful. However, the Washington Post reported on Saturday that the GAO had confirmed that the contact had been made at Helms’ request.

Wilson and Tsumagari said the GAO asked them to provide dates for appearances at both facilities, starting in 1984, of performance artists Karen Finley, Johanna Went, Frank Moore and Cheri Gaulke. Finley is already involved in the NEA controversy since she is one of 18 nominees for 1990 NEA solo performance fellowships. All 18 fellowships have been held up in a dispute over the content of work by Finley and four other nominees.

Went and Gaulke are both based in Los Angeles and produce work with strong feminist elements. All four artists have performed widely and been extensively reviewed by critics across the country.

Wilson and Tsumagari said the GAO gave no reason for wanting the performance dates and did not explain why--since Helms’ original request for an investigation centered on NEA funding in 1990--performance dates beginning in 1984 were relevant to the inquiry.

“My sense is that, whatever I say, it will be used against me,” said Wilson, who said she asked the GAO for time to consult with her attorneys before responding. “Helms has probably already decided that these artists are obscene. This issue is, isn’t this harassment?”

Tsumagari noted that the dates the four artists performed at the Kitchen and Franklin Furnace could be easily reconstituted from newspaper back issues by searching advertisements and reviews.

“My reaction is that . . . it is probably within the appropriate authority of the GAO for them to do this,” said Tsumagari. “But the problem is Helms is using the GAO to do research for him to use in his attack on the endowment on the (Senate) floor.” Any action by Helms will likely occur when a bill to renew the NEA comes up for a vote next month.