Nude Photo of 10-Year-Old Brooke Shields Goes on Display at Tate

by Amy Judd | September 29, 2009 at 01:40 pm

23924 views | 10 Recommendations | 0 comments

A Nude photograph of a ten-year-old Brooke Shields, entitled Spiritual America, is set to go on display as part of an exhibition at the Tate Modern in London.

Children's campaigners have called the photo a 'magnet for paedophiles'.

The photo shows the young actress standing naked in a bathtub, staring straight at the camera and wearing a lot of make-up with an oiled torso.

It is by Richard Prince, and will be part of the exhibition called Pop Life: Art In A Material World. It has been separated from the rest of the exhibit however and will be shown behind a closed door that will warn visitors that they may find the work 'challenging'. This is the first time the work has been shown in a British gallery, but the Tate says they consulted lawyers before agreeing to show the work.

A Tate spokesman said: "As with any artwork that contains challenging imagery, Tate has sought legal advice and evaluated the situation. Tate has taken measures to inform visitors of the nature of the work, providing information outlining the intentions of the artist."

Richard Prince's photograph is actually a photograph of a photograph, as the original is by Garry Cross and was commissioned by Brooke Shield's mother.

Ms. Shields tried to buy the negatives for the work in 1981, but was unsuccessful and ruled a 'hapless victim of a contract... to which two grasping adults bound her' by the judge.

Prince described Shields' appearance in the photograph as "a body with two different sexes, maybe more, and a head that looks like it's got a different birthday".

Child Charities are saying the photograph should not be on display and that it 'borders on child pornography'. Michele Elliott, the founder of Kidscape said:

"If you are using a picture of a naked child to bring people to your exhibition, then you are exploiting that child. It's as if they are using a 10-year-old girl for bait. I find it disturbing and they should be ashamed of themselves. And putting the picture in a room with a warning outside really is a magnet for paedophiles."