Roy High School (student art exhibition)
Artist: Amanda Fowers (student)
Year: 2005
Date of Action: April 2005
Region: North America
Location: Roy, Utah
Subject: Nudity
Medium: Painting
Confronting Bodies: Roy High School administrators, students and parents
Description of Artwork: Roy High School organized a student art show in their main foyer, which included three paitings by fellow senior Amanda Fowers. The artworks included a female breast and a hand with a black censor line, a woman's torso, a hand, and the lower half of the cleavage as well as two hands on a curved hip. Fowers, a 17 year old artist, paints exclusively with her right hand as her underdeveloped left hand allows for little movement.
The Incident: The High School's administrators removed Fowers paintings from the show, stating that the school code justified this decision as her work was "causing a disruption". The student's paitings were the only ones that have been removed, even though other pieces drew complaints and were allowed to remain in the exhibition. These include images of a boy and girl kissing and a woman's upper buttocks called "The Bather". Both students and parents have complained about Fower's work, claiming that it is offensive and inappropriate for an academic setting.
Wendy Toliver, a writer, and NCAC have both defended the student's work. The latter underlined the absurdity of the school's administration, which is bound to protect the rights of artists under the First Amendment as a public institution. The director of Arts Advocacy for NCAC, Svetlana Mintcheva, asserted that removing Fower's paintings "shows ignorance of art history and a religious standard gove amok" (Svetlana Mintcheva, April 21, 2005).
Results of Incident: Fowers received two offers from potential buyers, inquiring whether the paintings were up for sale.
Source:
3 censored paintings may be sold, Deseret News Utah, April 28, 2005.
