Lennon Photographer Happy Work Is Back : Art: But Annie Leibovitz is still disturbed by the earlier actions of Fullerton’s Muckenthaler Cultural Center.

Photographer Annie Leibovitz issued a statement Friday saying she is “glad” that her nude portrait of John Lennon is again part of the Muckenthaler Cultural Center’s “Heroes, Heroines, Idols and Icons” show. But she added a cautionary note.

“I fear this is not the last time this sort of censorship will be attempted,” she said. “In the current political climate, people are running scared. What worries me is how much self-censorship there is. Artists and cultural institutions are anticipating controversy and backing off from something they think might be criticized. This is no way to run a culture--or a free country.”

The portrait--which appeared on newsstands around the world nearly 10 years ago, as a cover of Rolling Stone magazine--had been removed by some trustees who said they didn’t think it was in keeping with the show’s theme. Thursday, after nearly a week’s worth of controversy, the full board of trustees voted unanimously to put the picture back on the wall.

But though Lennon’s portrait was back, eight photographs of homeless men by Mark Story had been taken down.

Despite the trustees’ reversal, Story sent a telegram to the center Friday asking for the immediate return of his works, which had been part of the same exhibit. “I don’t like the general smell of pressure (when) art that isn’t deemed acceptable (is) removed from a show,” he said. Friday afternoon, according to a spokeswoman for the center, Story’s pieces were being packaged for shipping.

Curator Norman Lloyd, who himself has resigned over the controversy, was nonetheless upset by Story’s action. “He’s made his statement,” Lloyd said Friday. “Now all he’s doing is ruining the show. Why punish the whole city for the actions of a few?”