January 17, 2006 | Sex & Society

A window on ignorance

Angelica Vignali was passing an art gallery in Escondido, Calif., with her 19-month-old son last month when she saw it: the painting of a nude man that caused her to blush, not in embarrassment, but in a fit of prudish outrage.

Artist Robert Ferguson's impressionistic painting of a naked man is displayed in the second-story window of Distinction Artist Studios and Gallery, where it is hard to see in the daylight, according to San Diego's Union-Tribune, but where Vignali nonetheless says it is inappropriately displayed so that children can see it. She complained to the gallery owner and to the city, which investigated but took no action once it had determined the portrait was not pornographic.

Ferguson addressed Vignali on the day that she made her complaint, but told the Union-Tribune that the conversation did not placate her. "She kept calling my work 'dirty,'" he said. "My work isn't dirty."

While Ferguson has received a surprising amount of hate mail since news of the controversy broke, his painting remains on display.

"I've been called an ungodly homosexual and other things," Ferguson said. "The only thing that is really getting exposed is the ignorance of people who don't understand art. What is so evil about a man's penis?"



For her part, Vignali has written a formal letter of protest to the city and says she will take the issue before the City Council if she has to.

"As a parent, I want to protect my child," she said.

From what, we may ask? If Vignali's child requires protection it's from his mother's nutty idea that penises are the font of evil. This lady needs her chastity belt untightened a few notches!

• Nude art's display in dispute [Signs on San Diego]