The Christian group The Danbury Institute has denounced an exhibition at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in Fort Worth, Texas, that includes images of naked children from award-winning photographer Sally Mann. The photographs are of Mann’s own children and were first published in 1992.
According to reports, some of Mann’s photographs have since been confiscated by the Fort Worth Police Department. Notably, Mann dealt with considerable controversy when she first published photographs of her prepubescent children decades ago in the collection “Immediate Family.”
“We are deeply troubled by the Diaries of Home exhibit currently on display at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Several photographs in this collection depict children in disturbing, exploitative, and inappropriate ways,” said The Danbury Institute in an open letter dated Dec. 28 urging the museum to remove the images. “These images are presented under the guise of art, but in reality, they sexualize children and exploit their innocence. This exhibit should be called what it is: child pornography.”
Nearly 2,000 people had signed the letter as of Jan. 7.
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth Under Fire for Exhibition Featuring Sally Mann
The Danbury Institute is “an association of churches, Christians, and organizations aligned to affirm and preserve God-given rights to life and liberty.” The organization fulfills this mission “by influencing culture and public policy, upholding the free exercise of religion, inspiring the vigorous involvement of an informed citizenry, and promoting Judeo-Christian values as the proper foundation for a free and prosperous republic.”
Mann is one of several artists featured in the Modern’s “Diaries of Home” exhibition, which opened Nov. 17 and will run until Feb. 2. The museum’s website says the exhibition “features works by women and nonbinary artists, who explore the multilayered concepts of family, community, and home.” The description of the exhibition notes the artwork “features mature themes that may be sensitive for some viewers.”
In a description of Mann’s work specifically, the museum says, “In showing her children naked, moody, and in suggestive situations, Mann evokes an edgy, dark side of childhood that can be raw and unsettling.”
The museum references the controversy Mann’s work caused when it was first published. “The artist’s photographs from Immediate Family became ensconced in the culture wars of the late 1980s and 1990s,” says the description. “In the media, some images were presented in isolation from the series, becoming touchstones for moral and political debates about art and censorship. Since then, the knee-jerk controversy has faded.”
On Dec. 23, The Dallas Express published an article titled “EXCLUSIVE: Is The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth Promoting Child Porn?” Per a tip from a resident, the media outlet said it visited the exhibition and noted that Mann’s photographs included one of “a girl jumping on top of a table. Another depicted a boy with an unknown liquid substance and his genitals exposed.”