An investigation into allegations of child pornography at a Sally Mann exhibition at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth is closed, but the case has prompted a Tarrant County representative to propose a law outlining the types of artworks that should be barred from museums.
Rep. David Lowe, a North Richland Hills Republican, filed House Bill 3958 March 6, which would create a civil penalty against museums that display “certain obscene or harmful material.”
A museum that displays any of the cited material would be fined up to $500,000 per item, per day the material remains on view. The Texas attorney general may ask for those museums in violation of the law to cover injunctive relief and attorney’s fees and costs related to investigations or litigation into their displays, according to the bill.
Lowe told the Report he was fueled to file the bill after Fort Worth police launched an investigation in January into decades-old photos by Virginia-born photographer Sally Mann. The photos were featured as part of the “Diaries of Home” exhibition at the Fort Worth Modern, which closed Feb. 2.
“The bill was introduced because the protection of children is paramount and I am committed to doing everything within my power to safeguard them,” Lowe said in a statement. “The situation involving actual nude photos of minors, not mere artistic depictions, displayed at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth spurred me into action. We must dedicate ourselves to protecting children from any institution that might seek to harm or exploit them under the pretense of art.”
Main Image: Fort Worth Modern
Anna Melnykova, "Palace of Labor (palats praci), architector I. Pretro, 1916", shot with analog Canon camera, 35 mm Fuji film in March 2022.
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