Accidental Nudity

This is from a blog called the nonist

by JMorrison

The following is essentially an accidental edition of In Search Of (a feature here in which I choose a subject, for instance the narwhal, and go buck-wild with the linkage) which began with a simple search for info on the Gymnosophists but which lead me much further afield:
Gymnosophists, Plutarch: Alexander & the Gymnosophists, The Digambara, Daily Routine Of a Digambara Monk, The Naked Saints of India, Skyclad, Skyclad Druidry

To go to the blog entry, click here

The Seattle Erotic Art Festival Announces Its Call for Art for 2007

The Seattle Erotic Art Festival (SEAF) will be held March 16-18, 2007 at the new Fenix in SODO. SEAF features an impressive collection of contemporary fine art from around the world, including painting, sculpture, photography, assemblage, prints, installations, performance art and film.

The CALL FOR ART is now open. Artists 18+ are invited to submit work that explores the diversity of erotic art - explicit, subtle, unconventional, beautiful, shameless, and beyond - to SEAF's fifth annual Juried Exhibition, Auction, and Festival Store. All media will be considered; art is selected based on quality of execution, originality of subject, and depth of emotion.

Submission deadline is December 11, 2006 via http://www.seafonline.org . Be a part of this pre-eminent event celebrating freedom of expression, creativity, and sexuality. Produced by the Seattle Sex Positive Community Center.

Call for Entries: UNCLAD 2007

Here is another opportunity to participate in the art of the nude

The sixth annual UNCLAD show featuring the nude figure in art is scheduled for March 10th - 18th, 2007 in Stanwood, WA and then April 5th - 8th in Portland, OR.

Last year, the show featured works by 85 artists from across the United States and Canada. [The organizers are] looking forward to another fantastic show and ... encourage all artists (accomplished and emerging!) to submit works for consideration.

ENTRIES ARE DUE: January 12th, 2007

For prospectus and entry form, click here.

Artists Submit Record 90 Entries for N*des-of-the-Month Virtual Exhibition

barebrush.com received a record number of entries for this monthly virtual exhibition which has been curated by Christpher Henry. A new appointment calendar format is announced. Call for entries for December 2006 exhibit.

New York, NY October 26, 2006 -- Internet startup, barebrush.com, announces today that artists submitted a record 90 entries for the November 2006 calendar, N*des-of-the-Month. Chelsea art dealer, Christopher Henry, selected 30 works from the barebrush.com 'Art Log', including two as jury of selection by artist/photographer, Ves Pitts .

Ilene Skeen, founder and CEO stated, "The process was intense and I'm really proud of the result. Chris Henry has a very selective point of view. Not all of the artists will be happy, but that's why I have a different curator each month."

The November 2006 N*des-of-the-Month calendar will be viewable by members on October 30, and by the public on November 1.

New Page-Per-Week Calendar Announced
Beginning November 2006, barebrush also introduces a monthly planning calendar in a printer-friendly, page-per-week format. This 6-page calendar will showcase the art and and artists in a practical format ideal for keeping track of appointments, calls, meetings, etc. The original one page-per-month format will continue to be available both for ease of online viewing and in the printable version.

Call for Entries, N*des-of-the-Month December 2006
The competition for the December N*des-of-the-Month is now underway and the December curator will be announced mid-November.

About barebrush.com
barebrush.com is an internet startup dedicated to the art of the nude. Features include 'Art Log' where artists post nudes(in all styles & media), 'News & Events' which carries news, events and opportunities relating to the art of the nude. The N*des-of-the-Month is a virtual exhibition curated each month by a different art professional. Membership is free.

Contact:
Ilene Skeen
ILS Designs, LLC
917-806-7992
http://www.barebrush.com

###

Controversial book gets Canadian publisher

canada.com

A book deemed too risqué by American publishers will be published in Canada.
Bodies and Souls: The Century Project, is a controversial collection of 98 nude portraits of females presented in chronological order from birth to nearly 100 years old.

It will be published by Heureka Productions, a company based in Ancaster, Ontario that specializes in books about nudism and naturism.

The book showcases the work of U.S. photographer Frank Cordelle, who has exhibited The Century Project for 14 years.

To read the complete article, click here

Just what are we being exposed to? Another view

Los Angeles Times latimes.com

by Al Martinez

EVER since the coverup of a bare breast at the Justice Department building in Washington, D.C., four years ago, America has gotten a little more prudish about nudity. Any nudity.

The breast belonged to a statue, Spirit of Justice, that stood in the department's Great Hall, where U.S. Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft, a staunch conservative, often held news conferences. The statue was concealed by drapes, presumably to avoid having the breast loom over Ashcroft every time he appeared on camera.

The episode builds upon the tradition of the late Republican Sen. Reed Smoot of Ogden, Utah, whose legacy of fighting obscenity in the early 1900s was immortalized by the poet Ogden Nash with, "Senator Smoot (Republican, Ut.) / Is planning a ban on smut. / Oh rooti-ti-toot for Smoot of Ut. / And his reverend occuput."

....But the true obscenity in our culture isn't a statue from ancient Greece but rather a modern insensitivity to violence. The war in Iraq, with some exceptions, has been reduced to sound bites and political platitudes unless an incident beyond horrendous requires scant more time or details.

To read the complete article, click here

Frisco ISD, McGee reach settlement

The Frisco [TX] Enterprise Star Community Newspapers

BY KEVIN BOWEN

An apparent settlement with Frisco Independent School District has Fisher Elementary School art teacher Sydney McGee saying it's time for all parties to move forward.

"To think that I may never teach again ... I'm not sure what the future is for me, but it will be good," McGee said.

The statement came Thursday after an apparent deal was struck between the district and the Frisco elementary school art teacher that would end a dispute that sparked a nationwide discussion on elementary school students' exposure to nude art.

"I just never intended for it to go this way," McGee said about the publicity that has surrounded the matter since it came to light in August.

At its Monday board meeting, FISD officials announced a noon Thursday deadline for Frisco teacher Sydney McGee to accept an offer from the district.

On Thursday, the district announced that Rogge Dunn, the attorney for McGee, had submitted a signed settlement agreement on his client's behalf, according to an FISD statement.

District officials are "pleased to have this matter resolved because it is in the best interest of the school district and all involved to put an end to this ongoing distraction, allowing the district to focus all of its energies on providing students with the best education possible."

To see the complete story, click here

barebrush.com Welcomes International Art

New York, NY -- Just two months after start-up and deep into the call for our third N*des-of-the-Month calendar (November 2006, deadline Wednesday), barebrush.com is delighted to welcome art from our first international member, Australian artist Jennie Rosenbaum, who writes:

"I am continually fascinated by the beauty and sensuality of the nude body and the strangeness of the human psyche. My work is heavily connected to my sense of self and my own feelings about my body. I take the frustration and pain from my disability and use it to fuel my inspiration and explore further the body’s weaknesses and strengths."

Jennie even wrote about barebrush in her blog, saying, "Sites like barebrush.com prove that there will always be a place for the traditional gallery relationship and dealer representation."

I couldn't agree more.

To read Jennie's complete story on barebrush.com, click here

To see Jennie's site, click here

Putin semi-nude detained

ABC News: Arts and Entertainment

By Stefan Armbruster

They made me laugh but Russian authorities were apparently not so amused by collages depicting semi-naked President Vladimir Putin, US President George W Bush and Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

The eleven art works were due to be exhibited in the Matthew Bown Gallery in London.

Gallery owner Bown says customs officials held the works as he tried to leave Moscow, citing concerns about the authenticity of papers issued by the Culture Ministry allowing them to be taken abroad.

"But of course I don't believe that was the real reason. From talking to various customs and policemen I get the impression that what they are worried about is the satirical representation of heads of state, Mr Putin and Mr Bush."

To read the complete story, (with images), click here

Tickets Now Required for ASL Panel "Why the Nude?"

New York, NY -- In the bad news/good news department, there has been so much advance interest in the Art Students League panel discussion -- "Why the Nude?" that tickets are required for this free event. Tickets will be available beginning Monday, October 23. The event is Thursday, October 26 at 7 pm. More bad news: seating is limited to 80 and the format does not include questions from the audience. An insider confided that many people will probably be turned away disappointed.

Good news for those who can't pick up tickets in advance or get closed out -- the event will be video taped and available for later viewing.

Ticket pick up: Monday October 23rd

Event: Thursday, October 26th, 7 pm

Participating artists: Sherry Camhy, Francis Cunningham, Denise Marika, Philip Pearlstein, Sharon Sprung, Anita Steckel, Costa Vavagiakis

Where: Art Students League, 215 W 57th Street, NYC

Call for Entries: barebrush.com Celebrates the Nude Form

MMD Newswire

With the October 25 deadline approaching, artists are encouraged to submit their work on line for selection by Christopher Henry.

New York, NY -- October 18, 2006 -- barebrush.com announces today that Chelsea gallery owner and art dealer, Christopher Henry will select and curate the third N*des-of-the-Month virtual exhibition. The deadline for the November 2006 calendar is October 25.

“I’m looking for artists who go beyond the academic. Many people can learn the skill of drawing. While an academic foundation is crucial, it’s the artist’s interpretation that makes it art, not the literal, figurative, academic classification. In the 21st century, we’re beyond the academic. What is the artist’s take on the nude? I want to see other ways to communicate otherwise, what’s the point? The academic works end up looking too similar – skill but no concept” explains Christopher Henry, Chelsea gallery owner and art dealer.

barebrush.com is a start-up website dedicated exclusively to the art of the nude. The N*des-of-the-Month is a virtual juried exhibition of the art selected from the entries in the “Art Log” by a guest art professional. The exhibition is presented on the web in a unique calendar format. Also on the site is an “Events & News” blog which presents opportunities, events and news in the world of the nude in art.

Yes! barebrush.com is in the news.To see the complete story, click here

Art flaps fade away, but Sturges and his nude photos thrive

Steve Winn, San Francisco Chronicle

Jock Sturges has been at this for more than 30 years now, and still we don't quite know. Are his photographs of nude women, men, children and adolescents poised on puberty's divide art or, well, something else?

Will we ever catch on to Sturges' straightforward insistence that bodies as he claims to see and show them are simply, innocently beautiful? Do the photographs themselves tell a more complicated story? Can any nude photograph, in an Internet age of YouTube teases, celebrity peekaboos and pornography of infinite gradations and numbing profusion, escape the brand of the culture's relentlessly sexualizing marketplace?

Those issues are raised once again by a new show of Sturges' work at the Stellar Somerset Gallery in Palo Alto (through Nov. 26) . Here -- and now in glowing digital color -- are more nudes of the sort that made the photographer such a vexing cause celebre in the culture wars of the early 1990s.

To see the complete story, click here

Gallery exhibit draws controversy from faculty, students

By Alana Casanova-Burgess, News [Pipe Dream, Binghamton University]

A controversial art exhibit featuring nude African women on display at the Binghamton University Art Gallery has spurred campus debate among faculty and students who are outraged at the content of the exhibit — and who are demanding that it be closed.

The exhibit, “Engaging the Camera: African women, portraits and the photographs of Hector Acebes,” on loan from the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, features photographs of women in Africa during the 1940s and ’50s — most of them nude. They are part of a collection of thousands of photographs taken during that time by Columbian photographer Hector Acebes. According to Lyn Gamwell, director of the BU Art Gallery, the curators of this exhibit decided to focus on Acebes’ photographs of women because Spelman College is an African-American women’s college....

Criticism of the collection has come mainly from faculty of the Africana studies department. James Burns, a professor in that and the music departments, was one of the first to see the exhibit and call for its closing....

Amid the criticism, Gamwell has remained firm in her decision.

“Absolutely no,” she said. “That would be the last thing I would do. No matter what we think we don’t want to silence the debate. We don’t want to put the issues in a box and put them away.”

To see the complete story, click here

Record advance sales for Velázquez show [includes only surviving female nude]

Mark Brown, arts correspondent

The Guardian [UK]

One of the most eagerly anticipated exhibitions in the art calendar has broken a record before it has even started: the Velázquez show has sold more advance tickets than any previous show, including Vermeer, Titian and Caravaggio.

The record advance ticket sales of more than 11,000 yesterday led to a plea from National Gallery bosses for people to book early to avoid disappointment.

For the first time, four rooms in the main gallery have been cleared to make way for the 46 works by the painter....

It will include one of the jewels in the gallery's collection, The Rokeby Venus - the only surviving example of a female nude by Velázquez, painted at a time that sort of thing was frowned on by the Inquisition. More properly known as The Toilet of Venus, it picked up the name because it hung at Rokeby Hall in Yorkshire before it was acquired by the National Gallery a century ago thanks to the then newly-founded Art Fund.

To read the complete story, click here

To see the Rokeby Venus, click here

London Auctions Show Contemporary Art Prices May Be Stalling [...but]

Bloomberg.com

By Linda Sandler

Oct. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Prices for contemporary art may be stalling as Sotheby's and Christie's international gear up for some $400 million of such sales in New York....

London auction rooms filled with 500 to 1,500 people this weekend, from dealers Larry Gagosian and Jeffrey Deitch to publishers Benedict Taschen and Louise MacBain. At Christie's, where many estimates were low, Zhang's family trio fetched a hammer price of 680,000 pounds ($1.3 million), or 1.8 times its top valuation. A Tom Wesselmann nude went for a record 1.3 million pounds, more than twice its high estimate. Most nudes fared well. [emphasis added]

To read the complete story, click here

USI "Shield": Drama Over Nude Photo

USI (University of Southern Indiana) officials say someone stole nearly 2,500 copies of the student newspaper. This edition features a controversial photograph of two women in bed together.

To see story & video, click here

Submission Deadline Approaching for Nudes International

Call for entries: Lexington (KY) Art League presents the 21st Annual Juried Exhibition The Nude International 2007

The deadline is approaching for this slides only submission opportunity. The juror is Vincent Desiderio, award-winning and widely collected figurative artist whose work is in the Guggenheim (NYC), Hirshhorn (Washington, DC), Kemper (Kansas City, MO), Metropolitan Museum (NYC), Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), and others.

To get the prospectus, click here.

(Adobe Acrobat reader required, click here to get the free Adobe reader download)

Nothing Left To Hide

The New York Sun
Gallery-Going

By MAUREEN MULLARKEY

The nude is a sign system that signals its milieu more legibly than any other genre. More transparent than even portraiture, the nude exposes both its creator and the culture of its time. Sculptor Barney Hodes is right: "It's not just the model who has nothing left to hide."

"Why the Nude? Contemporary Approaches" is the Art Student League's annual curated exhibition. On display are some 50 works by League instructors and, for the first time, outside artists. The name-conscious range of approaches yields an omnium gatherum of irreconcilable sensibilities, plus a few insensibilities. Names pile up, and fine work gets lost in the contemporizing clutter.

Work runs the gamut from William Beckman's drawing of his bride stripped bare to Knox Martin's wiseacre abstraction. The reticence and pictorial intelligence of Mary Beth McKenzie and Alan Feltus vie with Will Cotton's fairy floss. Kenneth Clark's distinction between the naked and the nude is largely bypassed in favor of nakedness and its discontents. In Clark's lexicon, the nude is an ordered design that is less the subject of art than one of its essential forms. Contemporary artists prefer nakedness itself, a pinchhitter for deeper disclosures. Few contemporaries accept the nude as a form entrusted to them. Most often it is an opportunity for irony or for pulling knickers down. Or yanking up a skirt, as Martha Bloom does in "Sea Sighting" (2006).

To read the complete review, click here

Personnel File Of Suspended Art Teacher Released

Tiani Jones
Reporting

(CBS 11 News) FRISCO [Texas] The personnel file of a suspended Frisco teacher was shared with the public on Tuesday.

The art teacher says it proves the district began documenting her every move after a parent complained that their child saw a nude sculpture at the Dallas Museum of Art....

CBS 11 reviewed the file and found that most of the documentation takes place after April of 2006.

To read the complete story, click here

Comment from ILS: It should be noted that the file in question was provided by the teacher, and that the district's copy of the file may have items in it which were not provided. Such items may even have been unknown to the teacher, which would make this tempest in a teapot an unfortunate communication failure.

If that's the case, what do you think? Should they clear the air and give the teacher another chance? Comments invited: click the comment box below, or email me.

Actor doubles as artist

'Columbo' star's drawings are on display at Butler

Steven Litt
Plain Dealer Art Critic

INTERVIEW

The Butler Institute of American Art

What: The first museum exhibition of life drawings by actor Peter Falk, aka Detective Columbo.

When: Through Sunday, Nov. 26. Where: 524 Wick Ave., Youngstown.

Admission: Free. Call 330-743-1107, or go to www.butlerart.com.

Youngstown- It was a simple gesture, nothing more. But it was all the veteran actor Peter Falk needed to coax laughter from admirers at the Butler Institute of American Art.

Falk was giving an interview about an exhibition of his life drawings and self-portraits at the museum. When a reporter asked him which art museums he liked best, Falk said: "What's the name of that famous museum in Paris? The Louvre? I went through that place in 20 minutes."

Then he looked at his watch. That's all it took. The gesture conjured an image of Falk as an impatient art lover. A small crowd of Butler staffers and interns who were listening to the interview cracked up....

Falk discovered life drawing in 1971 while acting on Broadway in Neil Simon's "The Prisoner of Second Avenue." His schedule left him free in the mornings with nothing to do. On a whim one day, he walked into the Art Students League on West 57th Street in Manhattan, opened a classroom door and was transfixed.

To read the complete story, click here

Seeing the Light

Lindsay Brant’s stained glass windows shine

By RAFAEL RISEMBERG Monday, October 09, 2006 for The New York Blade

I sometimes think that art is my religion, and galleries and museums are my temples. I felt this in particular as I visited lesbian artist Lindsay Brant’s luminous exhibit of contemporary stained glass windows at Haswellediger & Co. Gallery in Chelsea. Though for centuries stained glass has primarily been the domain of the church, Brant’s take on this art form is anything but traditional.

You won’t find either of this artist’s two self-portraits in a church anytime soon. The piece nearest to the gallery’s entrance (all of the works are untitled) shows the artist clad just in panties, standing outdoors near a partially built white brick wall. She cups her exposed breasts in her hands, as her face radiates a smile. While most of the materials in this work are cut glass—such as the bluish-gray panels that form her body, the greenish pieces that make up the background vegetation, and the bright red shards that form her cap—this and other works are studded with a variety of minerals that contribute a unique texture and hue. In this case, thick chunks of orange calcite protrude beyond the flat glass surface in the lower half of the work to represent rocks.

To read the complete story, click here

In Trafalgar Square, sculpture pays tribute to woman born with no arms

By Mark Roth, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

LONDON -- Alison Lapper has been sitting naked in Trafalgar Square for just about a year now.

Not Ms. Lapper in person, of course, but in some ways, an even more startling version of herself: a 12-foot-tall, white marble statue that depicts her when she was eight months pregnant, displaying the body she was born with -- no arms and severely shortened legs.

Ms. Lapper, who has a condition called phocomelia, was first sculpted in 1999 by British avant-garde artist Marc Quinn....

Although she is proud of her nude self-portraits and has received compliments about them at exhibits, she has sold almost none of them.

"I can't seem to break through this impenetrable barrier ... people want to look at my art and see it, but they don't want to go that next step and own it and put it in their homes. I don't know why, exactly. It may make people feel guilty."

She wishes instead that all people would accept each others' bodies.

To read the complete story, click here.

London gallery pulled art, fearing Muslim reaction: curator

CBC.CA / Radio Canada

A curator at a British art gallery alleges several works by surrealist Hans Bellmer, known for his life-size nude dolls of girls, were removed out of concern that they might upset Muslims.

Agnes de la Beaumelle, a curator at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in London, said Friday that Bellmer's works were taken away from an exhibit the day before it was due to open on Sept. 20.

Beaumelle, who protested the action, alleged that the gallery’s director pulled the pieces "simply not to shock the population" of Muslims who live in the east London neighbourhood.

But the gallery issued a statement saying some pieces from the well-known artist, who died in 1975, were not included because of space constraints.

To read the complete story, click here

The Plot Thickens on Fired Art Teacher

New Information On Fired Frisco Teacher
(CBS 11 News) FRISCO There is new information about a Frisco teacher who says she lost her job after one of her students saw a nude sculpture at a museum during a class field trip.

Personnel files, from McKinney ISD, show this isn't the first time teacher Sydney McGee has been asked to leave a district.

Supporters of McGee have said she lost her job as an art teacher because of the art field trip, but supporters of Frisco ISD say it’s a performance issue.

To see the complete story, click here.

Charlotte, NC Shows Art of the Nude

13 artists interpret the nude
Works by Picasso, Mapplethorpe are among those in survey show opening today at Lassiter gallery

RICHARD MASCHAL
rmaschal@charlotteobserver.com

Before opening a gallery in Charlotte nine years ago, Joie Lassiter handled work by Pablo Picasso in a gallery on the West Coast. It was magical. "I wanted to revisit the work in some way and touch it again," she said.

For several years, she'd been thinking about doing a show on the nude. Then it hit her: Combine the two impulses. Give four recently acquired Picasso etchings, done in the 1930s, context by surrounding them with a contemporary look on a subject central to Western art.

"The Ubiquitous Nude," a survey show with work by 13 artists, opens today at her South End gallery with a 6-9 p.m. public reception.....

"There are not many artists on the planet who in some way or another haven't visited the nude figure," said Lassiter.

To see the complete story, click here.

Reminder: " Why the Nude? Contemporary Approaches" Reception Tonight

Exhibition: October 5- 31

Reception for the artists: October 5 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Art Students League, 215 W 57th Street, NYC.

ART MARKET WATCH

October 4, 2006: Reported by Artnet, New York, NY.

A European collector ... bought Mel Ramos’ Leta and the Eastern King Bird (1969), a creamy Pop painting that features a reclining nude surmounted by a flying bird, Adolph Gottlieb-style, for $156,000, above its presale high estimate of $120,000.

To see the complete report, click here

Shock of the nude in Saatchi's new show

This new show in the Royal Academy (London) is stirring controversy. One coment was that it is "a response against fake American prudery." Unfortunately, from this side of the Atlantic, the prudery does not seem to be fake, nor even uniquely American. However, for artists, dealers and collectors, controversy is a good thing -- much better than indifference (my opinion).

Here's the story by Tom Teodorczuk, the Evening Standard:

Shock of the nude in Saatchi's new show

It is being billed as Charles Saatchi's most controversial show yet.

USA Today features paintings of an erect penis and a young girl performing oral sex, and a series of highly political artworks criticising George Bush and the war on terror.

See pictures from the show here

The multi-millionaire collector's latest show includes more than 150 works by 40 young American artists including Terence Koh, Gerald Davis and Matthew Monahan, who Saatchi says are now more interesting than their British counterparts.

See the complete story here

October N*des-of-the-Month is Here!

barebrush.com is pleased to announce that our second calendar, the October N*des-of-the-Month is out. The show was curated by Richard Pionk, president of the Salmagundi Club and I wish to thank Richard for his time and the staff at the Salmagundi for making the computer facilities available so that we could get the job done in a timely manner (thank you Katheleen & Chris).

The exhibition is dedicated to the memory of long-time monitor Joe Levenson (seethe 9/30 posting).

The format now shows the names of the artists who are in the exhibition with their dates for easy reference. Of course you can still click on the images to get the larger image and more details. There is also a printer friendly version which prints the calendar without the menu so that it fits nicely on a single page.

Click on the mini menu or [here] to see the October N*des-of-the-Month. Enjoy!

Why the Nude? Contemporary Approaches

October 5 - 31, 2006
Art Students League Exhibition

Exploring the continuing relevance of the nude to art and artists, this exhibition presents some fifty works, ranging from charcoal sketches to sculptures to a video installation.

Save the dates:
Reception for the artists: October 5 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Symposium: October 26 at 7:00 p.m. Artists Sherry Camhy, Francis Cunningham, Barney Hodes, Denise Marika, Philip Pearlstein, Sharon Sprung, Anita Steckel and Costa Vavagiakis will discuss issues surrounding the exhibit. The program is free and open to the pulic.

The Art Students League is located at 215 West 57th Street (between Seventh Avenue & Broadway).

Naked Fear

You may be following the story of the Texas art teacher who was fired because a fifth grader's parent objected to a nude sculpture in the Dallas Museum of Art. This event has been getting a lot of coverage all over the country. Here is the editorial published by the Houston Chronicle under the headline "Naked Fear"

Frisco school board needs to defend, not suspend, teacher in art uproar

In the sort of commotion that distorts discussion about moral values, a Frisco art teacher has been pulled from teaching after a parent complained one of the teacher's students glimpsed nudity.

In a statue.

At an art museum.

Both the parent's objection and Frisco Independent School District's panicked response expose little more than naked fear. But while a parent has the right to act on worries for an individual child, it's a school board's job to fight any intimidation that threatens other children's learning.

The Frisco school board needs to regain its vision and defend Sydney McGee.

To read the complete editorial, click here.

FYI: So far, all the opinions I've seen favor the teacher's reinstatement.