Posted on: Tuesday, August 14, 2001

ACLU plans lawsuit over banned display

By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai'i planned to file a lawsuit today in federal court charging that the city violated the civil rights of artist Daria Fand by banning the display of her controversial painting during a March exhibit at Honolulu Hale.

Fand's artwork — titled "Last of the Believers" — depicted a nude woman on a cross. Attorney Brent White, the ACLU's state legal director, said the city "blatantly deprived" Fand of her right to free speech.

He said Fand was invited by the Honolulu County Committee on the State of Women and the Mayor's Office on Culture and the Arts to submit work for an exhibit titled: "The Art of Women: Celebrating the Challenges and Successes of Girl and Women Artists with Disabilities."

White said the city's action to ban the painting shows a larger problem of the city lacking proper respect for the First Amendment.

"Here, the city was clearly concerned that the sight of a nude woman on a cross might offend certain conservative Christian individuals," White said. "Rather than risk offending these individuals, the city deprived Ms. Fand of her constitutional rights and all of us of the opportunity to view the works of an impressive and talented artist."

City officials were not prepared to comment yesterday on the plan to file a lawsuit.