The art world and local law enforcement are butting heads over photographs by acclaimed artist Sally Mann in Fort Worth. The Fort Worth Police Department is under fire from civil liberties organizations after confiscating several of Mann's photographs from an exhibition at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas, along with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), has sent a letter demanding that the photographs be returned. The investigation into the pieces was dropped, citing a violation of the First Amendment, as reported by FOX 4 News.
The controversy centers around Mann's "Immediate Family" series, which features candid and intimate portrayals of her children, some of which are nude, and has been displayed internationally for decades. Local officials, including Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare, condemned the images as potential child exploitation, leading to their seizure by police in January. The photographs, part of the exhibition "Diaries from Home," closed as scheduled on February 2, but not without a ripple of concern that has since widened. "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," O’Hare posted on X, as detailed by KERA News.
The ACLU has fiercely defended the artistic nature of Mann's work. "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, in a statement detailed by FOX 4 News. They argue that the photographs are constitutionally protected and do not meet the legal definition of obscenity. Representatives from the ACLU, FIRE, and NCAC are demanding an end to what they consider to be unconstitutional censorship.
