from KDFW tv station in DFW art removed by police from Modern Art Museum in Ft Worth
The Brief
The Fort Worth Police Department removed photographs from the Modern Art Museum as part of an investigation.
The artist took the photos in the early 90s and the collection has been debuted in more than a dozen shows across the country since.
The exhibition was from November 17, 2024, through February 2, 2025.
FORT WORTH, Texas - In November, the Fort Worth Police Department removed photographs at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth from an exhibition by the artist Sally Mann in what the ACLU of Texas calls a violation of the First Amendment.
Three civil liberty organizations sent a letter on Wednesday, demanding the police department "end its unconstitutional censorship and seizure of several pieces of art that were on display."
The Exhibit
The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth began hosting an exhibition in November called"Diaries from Home," featuring works that "explore the multilayered concepts of family, community, and home." Included in the collection were photos from Sally Mann’s 1990 collection "Immediate Family."
Mann’s collection featured an "intimate and candid look at her family’s rural life," the ACLU said in a news release.
Of the 65 photos in Mann’s "Immediate Family," 13 showed 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.
"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.
Fort Worth police seized the few pieces of artwork last month as part of an investigation. The rest of the collection was on display at the museum until the end of the exhibit, through February 2, 2025.
What they're saying
Some local officials publicly condemned the images.
One of the officials, Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare, posted on X saying, "The images of children reported in the media at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth are deeply disturbing. Sexual exploitation of a minor, including under the guise of ‘art,’ should never be tolerated. I have full confidence in law enforcement to thoroughly investigate this matter and take appropriate action. I will always be committed to protecting the most vulnerable members of society, our children."
After the comments were made, the Fort Worth Police Department seized several of Mann’s portraits from the exhibit as part of a criminal investigation into potential child abuse.
On Wednesday, after the ACLU sent a news release, FOX 4 News asked Fort Worth Police for a statement on the seizure of the photographs. The Public Relations Team responded with, "This is still an ongoing investigation. We don't have any new information to release."
The other side
According to the ACLU, all of Mann’s children, as adults, continued to support the collection and their mother and have never once suggested they were abused.
So I guess they are going to head over to the Kimball Museum next door and remove all the nudes there too.
= new reply since forum marked as read
