ACLU defends art porn charge

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed suit against the city of Pilot Point, Texas, on behalf of art gallery owner Dwight Wesley Miller after police threatened to charge Miller with displaying “hard-core pornography” in a location that might “victimize children” because of a mural that includes bare breasts.

The mural, by local artist Justine Wallaston, borrows heavily from Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam” fresco in the Sistine Chapel and features what the ACLU describes as a “classical female nude” depiction of Eve.

To avoid being charged with the crime, Miller has temporarily covered the figure’s breasts with a “crime scene banner” tape. “Art is in the eye of the beholder; that’s not what this case is about,” said ACLU of Texas executive director Will Harrell. “It’s about a person’s right to free expression.”

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Diane Haithman