Innocence of a Child's Nudity
Date: 1995
Region: North America
Subject: Explicit Sexuality Nudity
Medium: Photography
Artist: Toni Marie Angeli
Confronting Bodies: Zona Photographic Labs employee and local police.
Date of Action: 1995
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Description of Artwork: Innocence of a Child's Nudity was Angeli's final project in her Harvard photography class. The series exhibited nude images of her son and husband.
The Incident: Angeli brought her film to Zoni Photographic Labs for development. A lab employee viewed the works and feared that if the photos were found to be pornographic, the lab would be held liable. Investigators arrived and insisted that they be notified when Angeli came to retrieve he photos. When she arrived the lab refused to return her prints and called the police.
Results of Incident: After a brief, physical, confrontation at the lab, Angeli was arrested for destruction of property and assault and battery; she served 30 days in the Massachusetts Correctional Institution. She was not charged with child pornography.
Source: Artistic Freedom Under Attack, 1996