Tag: Museums: The Modern

A story I’ve been keeping an eye on while I scramble out from under the piles of stories from international, national, state, and local sources is the seizure of photographs from the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. The Modern had an exhibit of Sally Mann photographs that closed at the beginning of this month. Among the many photographs in the exhibit were four photos of her then-young children naked. After some community outrage, Fort Worth PD showed up to seize the photos in January.

Now the ACLU of Texas, FIRE, and the National Coalition Against Censorship have gotten together to write a letter to FWPD describing the seizure as unconstitutional censorship. Nobody seems to have anything to say to local media; the museum and FWPD are keeping mum.

Here’s the thing: I haven’t seen these photographs, but I’m old enough to remember when toddler bathtime photos were considered normal and not sexual exploitation of children. I’m glad my bathtime photos aren’t on the internet, a topic that brings up questions of consent, and I certainly can see how putting naked photos of your little kids in an art exhibition brings up the same questions. But artistic nudity, especially where little kids are concerned, is real. If any photo of a naked kid you ever see is sexual, or even pornographic, in your eyes, you have a problem.

The Modern had noted that the Mann exhibit had mature content, which I understand is necessary in the GOP-led city of Fort Worth, but honestly photos of little kids running around naked shouldn’t need that label. Nor should the Cowboy exhibit at the Amon Carter Museum around the corner have had to post a warning because the exhibit included a painting of two men kissing. Tarrant County has a prudish bully in County Judge Tim O’Hare, who commented on the Mann exhibit on Xitter. And of course the Dallas Express had to have its say back in December. These are the folks who think photos of child nudity are inherently sexual. They’re the ones with the dirty minds, and the problem.

• DMN: Fort Worth PD asked to return confiscated photographs of nude children.
• Star-Telegram: ACLU demands Fort Worth police return photos taken from museum in child porn investigation.
• KERA: Fort Worth PD asked to return confiscated Sally Mann photographs.
• Fort Worth Report: Civil liberties groups demand Fort Worth police end child pornography investigation against museum.
• KERA: What is ‘mature content’ at Carter museum’s ‘Cowboy’ exhibit? Artists want to know