Art Show Shut in Censorship Spat
By Henry Hanson

Women artists of Artemisia Gallery took down their scheduled show in the John Hancock Center Friday to protest censorship by building officials just hours before it was to open.

A John Hancock Center official had objected to nudity in five photos in the show and ordered five pictures of artist Jane Wenger, nude and leaning over backward, removed.

Artist members of the women’s co-operative gallery voted 14 to 7 to withdraw the entire show, which was installed Thursday and was scheduled to open Friday evening.

“There’s more nudity on display in magazines for sale in the Hancock Center than there was in our show,” said Lucia Beier, coordinator of Artemisia Gallery. The show included paintings and sculptures, as well as photos.

John Briggs, public relations director of the Hancock, had objected to the photos by Ms. Wenger, 33.

He issued a statement saying the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co. supports the decision and “regrets any misunderstanding.”

Briggs said the building reserves the right to exclude any art objects that “might prove offensive, particularly to children who are residents in the center or visitors to the observatory.”

Briggs admitted that he had no special training in art or art appreciation in making his judgment.

Ms. Wenger, who has been a photographer for 13 years, said her pictures are “abstract.”

“They’re certainly not sexual particularly, and they’re not pornographic. They sort of transcend the sense of nudity,” she said.