Tag: demands

FORT WORTH, Feb. 19, 2025 — A trio of civil liberty organizations are speaking up today to demand the Fort Worth Police Department end its unconstitutional censorship and seizure of several pieces of art that were on display at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, National Coalition Against Censorship, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas are joining forces to demand the return of several pieces of art by Sally Mann, a renowned photographer with accolades from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Guggenheim Foundation.

In November 2024, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth began hosting an exhibition called “Diaries from Home,” featuring works that “explore the multilayered concepts of family, community, and home.” Included in the collection were some of the photos from Mann’s 1990 collection “Immediate Family.” Mann’s collection featured an intimate and candid look at her family’s rural life. As she describes it, “I photographed their triumphs, confusion, harmony and isolation, as well as the hardships that tend to befall children — bruises, vomit, bloody noses, wet beds — all of it.”

Of the 65 photos in Mann’s “Immediate Family,” 13 depicted her children in the nude. The selection of nude photos displayed in the Modern reportedly included depictions of Mann’s daughter jumping onto a picnic table in a ballet pose, Mann’s daughter lying in bed with a stain from a nighttime accident, and Mann’s son with a melted popsicle running down his body.

“Anyone who’s ever taken a photo of their child or grandchild taking a bath understands that not all photographs of child nudity are malicious, let alone child abuse,” said FIRE Director of Public Advocacy Aaron Terr. “The seizure of Mann’s works is an egregious abuse of power that dishonestly conflates artistic expression with sexual exploitation.”

The works are not the product of child abuse, and they are neither intended nor designed to excite lust in the viewer. They do what much art does — convey ideas and invite viewers to reflect on the human experience.

Nor do the works meet the legal definition of “obscenity,” an extremely narrow definition that does not apply to all depictions of child nudity. This should be common sense to anyone familiar with the iconic “Napalm Girl” photograph, National Geographic documentaries, or even major Hollywood films like the 1978 version of “Superman.”

“Immediate Family” was controversial even at its debut decades ago, but has been showcased in more than a dozen art galleries across the world, including the National Gallery of Art. But its inclusion in the Fort Worth exhibition reignited the debate when local press and politicians denounced the photos as “child pornography.” Fort Worth police seized the artwork last month ostensibly as part of an investigation into “child abuse,” even though all of Mann’s children, as adults, continued to support the collection and their mother and have never once suggested they were abused.

“Publicity stunts like this one — in which artworks that have been shown and discussed for over 30 years are suddenly the focus of an unfounded ‘investigation’ — do nothing to protect victims of child abuse, and serve only to chill the creative expressions of artists and cultural institutions by subjecting them to the threat of political prosecution and the unconstitutional seizure of artwork,” said Elizabeth Larison, Director of NCAC’s Arts and Culture Advocacy Program.

“It’s shameful that government officials would use the criminal legal process to censor art and expression,” said Adriana Piñon, legal director of the ACLU of Texas. “This is a clear violation of the First Amendment and of the guardrails against abuse of the criminal justice system. Artistic expression should not be subject to the whim and punishment of government officials’ personal taste.”

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought — the most essential qualities of liberty. FIRE educates Americans about the importance of these inalienable rights, promotes a culture of respect for these rights, and provides the means to preserve them.

The ACLU of Texas is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that works with communities, at the State Capitol, and in the courts to protect and advance civil rights and civil liberties for every Texan, no exceptions.

Since its inception in 1974, the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) has functioned as a first responder in protecting freedom of expression, a fundamental human right and a keystone of democracy. Representing 60 national education, publishing, and arts organizations, NCAC encourages and facilitates dialogue between diverse voices, perspectives, and audiences.

CONTACT:

Alex Griswold, Communications Campaign Manager, FIRE: 215-717-3473; [email protected]

Kristi Gross, Press Strategist, ACLU of Texas, [email protected]

Alex Finan, Communications Lead, NCAC, [email protected]