The photographer behind the Fort Worth Modern Art Museum’s controversial exhibition Diaries of Home, which features imagery critics content is child pornography, has a contentious past.
Sally Mann, who has been a photographer for decades, received backlash for her work as early as the 1990s. A 1992 New York Times Magazine cover called “The Disturbing Photography of Sally Mann” mentioned that a federal prosecutor told Mann one time that “no fewer than eight pictures she had chosen for the traveling exhibition could subject her to arrest,” reported Artnet.
Arts critic Richard B. Woodard asked questions such as, “Has she knowingly put [her children] at risk by releasing these pictures into a world where pedophilia exists? Can young children freely give their consent for controversial portraits, even if — especially if — the artist is their parent?”
The nude children’s photography was produced in 1992 by Mann and led to critics accusing Mann of sexualizing her children. “Save the Children” was organized against Mann’s work, reported Public Delivery.
Despite the public backlash that Mann has faced due to her controversial photography, she has defended her work and told Times Magazine in 2015, “All too often, nudity, even that of children, is mistaken for sexuality, and images are mistaken for actions,” wrote Mann.
“The image of the child is especially subject to that kind of perceptual dislocation; children are not just the innocents that we expect them to be… But in a culture so deeply invested in a cult of childhood innocence, we are understandably reluctant to acknowledge these discordant aspects or, as I found out, even fictionalized depictions of them,” added Mann, reported Artnet.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, we received a tip from a Fort Worth resident who informed us that the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth was exhibiting a collection called Diaries of Home. The documentary photography includes pictures of naked children and LGBTQ+ content.
The Dallas Express has been notified that a warrant has been issued and executed regarding child pornography images at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
The images have been secured as potential evidence and will not be visible to the public while the investigation is pending.
Elected officials have condemned Mann’s work.
“Protecting society’s most vulnerable, particularly our children, was a key motivator for my decision to run for office. It is crucial that our legal framework leaves no room for predators to misuse the realm of art to display child nudity. Should any loopholes exist, we are prepared to address and eliminate them in the upcoming legislative session in Texas,” House District 91 State Representative-elect David Lowe previously told The Dallas Express.
The Dallas Express reached out to Sally Mann for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication. The museum has also not commented on the exhibit.