Although an investigation into allegations of child pornography at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth is closed, the case has prompted a Tarrant County lawmaker 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.”
The bill, which refers to Texas Penal Code, defines obscenity as materials or performances that depict sexual conduct in an offensive way that lack literary, artistic, political or scientific value. A performance refers to plays, motion pictures, dances or other exhibitions performed in front of an audience. Harmful material is defined as items that depict people under the age of 18 in sexual acts, nudity or excretion.
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 Modern, which closed Feb. 2. Lowe was among the elected officials who criticized the exhibit in articles published by conservative news website The Dallas Express.
“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.”
Mann had 21 pieces included in the Modern exhibition co-curated by Chief Curator Andrea Karnes and Assistant Curator Clare Milliken, including a handful from her 1992 book “Immediate Family” that featured the artist’s then-young children in the nude. The images removed from the exhibit by police included a photo centered on Mann’s naked daughter jumping onto a picnic table and a portrait of her son with popsicle drips running down his torso, legs and genitals.
By the end of March, a Tarrant County grand jury declined to take actions against the Modern. The Fort Worth museum declined to comment on Lowe’s bill.
Lowe’s bill is currently being reviewed by the Committee on State Affairs. Of the 11-member House delegation, Tarrant Republicans Charlie Geren and John McQueeney and Democrat Chris Turner serve as members of the committee.
During the review process, lawmakers study the bill before making changes to it, recommending it to the full chamber for consideration or choosing not to act on it. If the committee reports the bill favorably, it is then placed on the calendar for debate and a vote by the full House.
Chloe Kempf, staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas, said the proposed legislation threatens the constitutionally protected right to artistic expression in Texas. The ACLU was one of several civil liberties groups that celebrated the dropped case against the Modern, citing First Amendment protections.
“As we recently witnessed with the attempted censorship of Sally Mann, legislation like this seeks to intimidate artists and curators through baseless investigations of, and penalties against, our artistic communities,” Kempf said. “The people of Texas, not government officials, should have the freedom to decide what forms of art we want to view and support.”
After Fort Worth police seized photos in the exhibition, the National Coalition Against Censorship sent a letter to Chief Neil Noakes demanding the closure of the investigation and the return of the photos to the Modern. Now, the coalition made up of over 50 national nonprofit organizations has voiced concern about Lowe’s proposal to restrict future displays.
“Whatever one’s feelings about the Texas Grand Jury’s correct conclusion that the work of Sally Mann is indeed protected artistic expression and not a crime, no state legislation has the power to criminalize or ban expression that is fully protected by the First Amendment,” Elizabeth Larison, the coalition’s director of arts and culture advocacy program, said in a statement.
The Modern hasn’t been the only Fort Worth art institution that has sparked controversy around an exhibition. The Amon Carter Museum of American Art temporarily shut down its “Cowboy” exhibition in October 2024 without explanation before reopening it with a mature content warning.
The exhibition was promoted as pushing against the stereotypical images of cowboys by highlighting content from women, people of color and members of the LGBTQ community. One installation included a painting of two men kissing, a video of two men dancing and an adobe floor where their boot prints were visible. The Carter museum never elaborated on which artwork promoted the closure or the content warning.
If passed and signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott, House Bill 3958 would take effect Sept. 1.
David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports.
The Fort Worth Report’s Texas legislative coverage is supported by Kelly Hart. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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