3 censored paintings may be sold

ROY — Three paintings by a Roy High School student that were removed from a school art show are attracting interest and could be sold or possibly displayed in a Los Angeles gallery.

High school administrators removed the oil paintings by Amanda Fowers. One painting was of a female breast and a hand overlaid by a black censor line. Another depicted a woman's torso, a hand, and the lower half of cleavage. The third showed two hands on a curved hip.

Roy High art teacher Jeffrey Lowe, who defends the art, said he has since received two phone calls from people wondering if Fowers wanted to sell the paintings.

One person also called from California and wants to get the pictures displayed in a gallery, Lowe said.

Fowers said she is open to selling the paintings but has no idea how much to charge.

"It's all new to me," said Fowers, who is headed to Weber State University in the fall to major in art.

District administrators said Fowers' paintings were causing a disruption.

Some students and faculty had complained about the pieces, saying they were offensive.

The weeklong art show was in the school's main foyer. Principal Lee Dickemore declined to comment Wednesday.

The 17-year-old artist's left hand is underdeveloped and allows for little movement.

"No wonder she is drawing hands," said writer Wendy Toliver, 32, of Eden.

"Her art is beautiful to me," Toliver said. "I would love it in my office. It's gorgeous. It's not vulgar to me."

Fowers' paintings are the only ones that have been removed, though some others also have drawn complaint.

These include several that show a boy and girl kissing, and a work called "The Bather," which displays a woman's upper buttocks.

Some parents say high school isn't the place for some pieces of art.

"It's probably not things I would want my high school child to see," said Michelle Marshall, and her daughter, Aubree Marshall, a junior, agrees.

"High school students don't view art in a very mature way," she said. "They would be laughing at it."

Svetlana Mintcheva, director of Arts Advocacy for the National Coalition Against Censorship, said art is protected by the First Amendment.

"Removing it shows ignorance of art history and a religious standard gone amok," she said.