Modern Art Movement Really a C.I.A. Front?

Yup. That appears to be the case. It turns out that the C.I.A. funded the modern art movement as a way to show that Communism was not as free and expressive as they were proclaiming to be. One of my favorite quotes from the article:

The decision to include culture and art in the US Cold War arsenal was taken as soon as the CIA was founded in 1947. Dismayed at the appeal communism still had for many intellectuals and artists in the West, the new agency set up a division, the Propaganda Assets Inventory, which at its peak could influence more than 800 newspapers, magazines and public information organisations. They joked that it was like a Wurlitzer jukebox: when the CIA pushed a button it could hear whatever tune it wanted playing across the world.

Wow. So from the 50's until the 60's a lot of art was actually funded by C.I.A. decision makers, and not the elected government officials. They funded it like they would any other weapons program. Seriously, if that doesn't put some kind of fear into you, you might want to check for a pulse.