Siren
Date: 1998
Region: North America
Subject: Nudity
Medium: Painting
Artist: Michael Savage
Confronting Bodies: Art show committee
Dates of Action: July 1998
Location: National Art Show, Dubois, Wyoming
Description of Artwork: Painting on metal featuring topless mermaids.
The Incident: Savage's painting, Siren, was excluded from the National Art Show in Dubois for featuring frontal nudity. The committee, who has final say in what pieces are acceptable for the show, commented that the town is just not ready for such art.
Results of Incident: Savage picketed the nine days of the show and displayed his painting for passerby who asked to see it. He took a poll to see how many people disapproved of his work. By his count, 182 of the 185 people who saw the painting found it acceptable. Savages painting was published in the Dubois Frontier.
Source: NCAC, National Campaign for Freedom of Expression