Photographer Says His Work Was Censored

A photographer whose work is being exhibited in the city-owned Los Angeles Photography Center has charged that his premier picture was censored because “it had a gun in it.”

The photograph, taken by Santa Barbara photographer Kevin McKiernan for an exhibit called “Images of Central America,” shows Salvadoran voters in a 1984 election line next to a soldier with a machine gun over his shoulder. The photograph was acquired last year as part of the permanent collection of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.

The photograph and 30 others taken by McKiernan are being shown at the Photography Center, which is run by the city’s Cultural Affairs Department. But the picture was dropped from the official invitation sent to 3,500 people and replaced by a photo of women in a protest march. Both McKiernan and Glenna Avila, the director of the center who had approved the photo, said they learned of the substitution only after the invitations were being mailed.

“I called City Hall and they told me it was too strong and they were afraid it would offend city dignitaries,” said McKiernan, 44. “If they didn’t like my work, why invite me in the first place? If they don’t like a gun in the picture, why don’t they try to get guns out of Central America instead of just trying to get rid of guns from the photographs?”

Rodney Punt, interim general manager of the culture agency, said in an interview that Central America politics had nothing to do with his decision to switch the photos. He denied that such a decision constituted censorship and pointed out that the photo is still in the exhibit.

“Many, many people are not happy with the imagery of guns. We are respectful of that,” he said in explaining his decision. “People make a personal choice about what they see when they enter a building, but (they do not) make a choice about what comes into their homes. We wanted to respect the varying sensibilities of the public at large.”

However, McKiernan said he was told by Tom Meyer, who designs brochures of city-sponsored art exhibits, that Punt was afraid of offending city officials who would receive the invitation but be unlikely to see the exhibit.

Meyer declined to comment on that assertion, but did say the photo was removed from the invitation for fear of offending city officials. He said he personally had taken the photo to Punt for approval before making up the invitation because it seemed “less toned down” than most photos the city displays. He added that he agreed with Punt’s decision.

“When we mail an invitation, (it) goes to all the city officials, county officials, judges, the hoo-haas of the city,” Meyer said. “Most of those people could care less about what goes on at the Photo Center. But if the mayor or somebody like that gets an invitation . . . with guns all over the front of it, he’s probably going to notice.

Meyer added: “That wasn’t censorship. It was selection.”

Punt said his own bid for permanent appointment to his temporary post absolutely was not involved in his decision on the photo.

Avila, director of the city-owned Photography Center near MacArthur Park, said the decision was the first time in her five years at the center that a photo had been removed over the objection of the artist. Once before, she added, an image had been changed for reasons of nudity. But in that case, the artist did not protest, she said.

“The photo struck me as very realistic,” Avila said. “It’s what’s happening there. . . .These things are on the cover of Time and Life and Newsweek all the time.

McKiernan has taken photographs for Time, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone and other publications.