Several works by photographer Sally Mann on display at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth have reportedly been removed following protests from Republican officials in Texas. to call to action for an investigation into her artwork. In the days before it was the right-wing outlet Dallas Express had published several pieces equating Mann’s photos of her naked children with child pornography.
The Texas Visual Arts Publication Glass tape reported that several of Mann’s photographs and associated wall texts had been removed from the group exhibition Diaries from homefeaturing the work of 13 women and non-binary artists, including Nan Goldin and Carrie Mae Weems, opened on November 17 and explores feminine spheres.
Three of the works reportedly seized, none of which depict sexual content, portray her three children in the nude and are available for public viewing online, including on the Internet. Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Guggenheim Museum‘s websites. “Popsicle drops” (1985) is a zoomed-in portrait of Mann’s young son’s torso, including his genitals, covered in what appear to be popsicle drops. “The wet bed” (1987) shows a young girl lying in a soaked bed, and “The perfect tomato” (1990) captures a girl jumping onto a table littered with tomatoes.
In a statement to Hyperallergic, a spokesperson for the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth confirmed that an “investigation” has been conducted into four works of art in the Diaries from home exhibition, which will be on display until February 2.
“These have been widely published and exhibited in leading cultural institutions across the country and around the world for more than thirty years,” the spokesperson said. The museum says it cannot comment further.
A spokesperson for the Forth Worth Police Department confirmed this in an email Hyperallergic that there was an active investigation into Mann’s photos and declined to comment further.
In a 2015 New York Times In the essay, Mann defended her works, writing, “All too often, nudity, even that of children, is mistaken for sexuality, and images are mistaken for actions.” She described “The Perfect Tomato” as “one of those miracle photographs in this series that saves spontaneous moments from the flow of our lives.”
The right-wing news site will appear on Monday, January 6 Dallas Express said police were executing a search warrant to seize certain photos. Weeks earlier, the publication published an incendiary one article conflating the exhibition’s LGBTQ+ content with accusations of criminal child pornography. Days later, Republican Judge Tim O’Hare of Tarrant County spoke demanded the photos are immediately deleted and investigated by law enforcement, who call them “disturbing and offensive.”
Hyperallergic has contacted O’Hare’s office for comment.
“If you don’t also focus on upholding moral standards, this kind of degeneration creeps in,” said Bo French, chairman of the Tarrant County Republican Party. Dallas Express. “Our wonderful museums should promote excellence rather than radical perversion.”
The Danbury Institute, a right-wing Christian group, also condemned Mann’s photos in an open letter on December 28.
“These images are presented under the guise of art, but in reality they sexualize children and exploit their innocence. This exhibition should be called what it is: child pornography,” the letter said reads.
Mann has not yet responded Hyperallergic conditions request comment via gagosian gallery.
The artist was met for the first time criticism about her photographs of her naked children in 1992, when she first published her collection immediate family, with images of her children in and around her home in Virginia.
“…The release of Immediate family just happened to coincide with a moral panic over the depiction of children and that brought the whole issue to the fore,” Mann said said in a 2016 interview with the National Book Foundation. “It was unpleasant for a while, but it seems as a country we have moved on to other sources of paranoia.”
The international organization for artistic freedom, Artists at Risk Connection (ARC), has a statement Thursday, January 9 condemns the reported seizure of Mann’s artworks and writes that the organization denounces “intimidation tactics to pressure artists and museums to censor work.”
“This brazen act of censorship by Texas authorities not only undermines artistic freedom, but also sets a dangerous precedent for the cultural sector in the United States,” said Julie Trébault, ARC executive director, in an email to Hyperallergic.
“The targeting of Sally Mann, a celebrated artist whose work delves deeply into themes of family and identity, is emblematic of a disturbing trend of intimidation and moral panic used to silence challenging voices – especially those of women, LGBTQIA+ and marginalized artists. continued.
Republican lawmakers took similar steps to change an East Tennessee State University political art exhibit last month that featured images intended to criticize far-right authoritarianism. After calls for the exhibit’s removal, the state-funded university museum began asking visitors to sign a liability waiver before viewing the exhibit.
