Fort Worth, Texas, police have returned photographs created by Sally Mann that officials had confiscated earlier this year, presumably on the grounds the photos might fall under the definition of “child pornography.”
Christian group The Danbury Institute has condemned the photos, which were on display at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, while civil liberty organizations such as the ACLU of Texas have celebrated the release of the photographs as a victory for free speech.
“There is no redeeming artistic value to photographs of naked children that were in the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth—a museum that itself described the photos with words like ‘suggestive,’ ‘dark,’ and ‘edgy,’” said Sharayah Colter, chief communications officer for The Danbury Institute, in a statement to ChurchLeaders. “To frame a grotesque display like ‘Diaries of Home,’ which included images of real human children’s genitalia, as a work of art and freedom of expression is an affront to the just and righteous nature of our First Amendment.”
Sally Mann Photographs Returned by Fort Worth Police
Sally Mann is an award-winning photographer who was among several artists featured in an exhibition held by the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth titled “Diaries of Home.” The exhibition ran from Nov. 17 to Feb. 2 and included “works by women and nonbinary artists.” The museum advised viewers that the display contained “mature themes that may be sensitive for some.”
In the early 1990s, Sally Mann received acclaim and generated controversy for her work showing her family life that included photos of her prepubescent children, sometimes naked. The photographs were not only controversial because the children were naked in some of them but also because some of the images alluded to suicide, abuse, and poverty.
Some raised concerns that the children, being minors, were unable to truly give their consent for the photos to be published. Mann has shared that her children wanted the photos published and that, prior to publication, the children had the option to veto any photos they did not want to be public.
Over 30 years later, Mann’s photos are again at the center of controversy. They came to the public’s attention because of an article from The Dallas Express titled “EXCLUSIVE: Is The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth Promoting Child Porn?” The Express drew attention in particular to two photographs titled “The Perfect Tomato” and “Popsicle Drips,” respectively, the first depicting one of Mann’s daughters and the second depicting her son. In both, the children are naked. The second shows only the boy’s thighs and torso with liquid dripping down his groin area.
A description of Mann’s work at the Modern’s exhibition said, “In showing her children naked, moody, and in suggestive situations, Mann evokes an edgy, dark side of childhood that can be raw and unsettling.”
In the past, Mann, who consulted a federal prosecutor prior to publishing the photos, has defended her work. She described her photographs of her as children “sensual” but not “sexual” and defended her children’s agency.
