West Texas Venus, Annie and Sam (Lubbock, Texas)

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Artist: Lahib Jaddo

Year: 2007, 2008

Date of Action: December 2007

Region: North America

Location: Lubbock, Texas

Subject: Nudity

Medium: Painting

Confronting Bodies: Lubbock city officials, Scott Snider

Description of Artwork: "West Texas Venus" features a nude woman a week before giving birth. "Annie and Sam" features the same woman after giving birth, nursing her baby.

The Incident: The drawings were meant to be displayed at the city's Buddy Holly Center, but were withdrawn, sight unseen, by assistant city manager Scott Snider, who cited the center's "no nudes" policy. Breast feeding in public has been legal in the state of Texas since 1995.

Results of Incident: After widespread protest, including a "nurse-in" by 500 Texas mothers at the center, the city of Lubbock apologized to Jaddo. City Manager Lee Ann Dumbauld released a statement saying "For the past two years, the Buddy Holly Center has operated under a written no-nudes practice. After review of current case law, we have determined we should not place restrictions on art exhibits. I apologize to Ms. Jaddo for the inconvenience and I hope she will consider hosting a future exhibit at the center." [1]

Source:
• http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=4079181&page=1#.T9eZD78xs7A