Read Glasstire’s initial reporting of the events surrounding Sally Mann’s work at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth here. Read our follow-up article here.
The Association of Art Museum Directors and the National Coalition Against Censorship have issued public statements condemning the seizure of photographs by Sally Mann that were on view in a special exhibition at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. The works were on loan for the show from Gagosian gallery.
The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
On January 9, the National Coalition Against Censorship released a statement, which in part reads, “It is especially concerning that the criminal complaint was filed by [Tarrant County] Judge [Tim] O’Hare, because government officials have a duty to respect and uphold the First Amendment — which includes robust protection for artistic expression.”
The statement continued:
“Mann’s work, just like that of many artists, may raise questions for some viewers, but any discussion of those questions has now been preempted by disingenuous claims of child sexual abuse and the spectacle of a sensationalized criminal investigation. Such a seizure and investigation can only contribute to the perverse and troubling perception that all images of naked children are inherently sexual, thereby reinforcing the very sexualization of children that critics purport to oppose. In the process, they demean the severity of real child sexual abuse.
The National Coalition Against Censorship calls upon Texas authorities to cease their baseless investigation and return Mann’s work for display at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.”
Also on January 9, the Association of Art Museum Directors published the following statement on its website:
“AAMD believes that freedom of expression is essential to the health and welfare of our communities and our nation. That includes the right of art museums to present works of art that express different points of view, or that may be challenging or uncomfortable for some viewers. While AAMD respects that there can be a wide variety of reactions to Sally Mann’s artworks, and respects that some audiences may decide not to view them, it condemns any effort to censor the presentation of these works.”
On November 17, 2024, the Modern debuted its exhibition Diaries of Home, which features 13 women and nonbinary lens-based artists exploring themes of home, family, and community. On December 23, 2024, The Dallas Express, a publication the Columbia Journalism Review has reported has ties to founders of the Tea Party political movement, published an article questioning photographs in the show by Ms. Mann that depict her nude children. The article includes quotes from locals who categorized the artwork as “child pornography.” After a series of subsequent articles by the The Dallas Express that also included calls from local Republican officials to investigate the museum, a police report was filed and ultimately the photographs were removed.
The wall at center had previously displayed four photographs by Sally Mann. “Popsicle Drips,” along with other images depicting nude children, has been removed and the remaining works have been rehung to fill the space.
Though The Dallas Express has stated that the police have seized the artworks as part of its investigation, the Modern has not confirmed these claims. The museum released a statement on January 9 that “an inquiry had been made concerning four artworks in the temporary exhibition Diaries of Home.” On Tuesday, January 7, Glasstire visually confirmed that five of Ms. Mann’s works — Popsicle Drips, The Perfect Tomato, The Wet Bed, Another Cracker, and Cereus — have been removed from the show. The Modern’s statement also addressed the fact that Ms. Mann’s photographs have been exhibited for more than three decades in cultural institutions across the U.S. and throughout the world.
1 comment
Leave it to the Express.