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Back in August photographer Zach Hyman brought one of his muses to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for some naked time. The 26-year-old model, Kathleen Neill, stripped down in the Arms and Armour exhibit, only to be arrested shortly after for public lewdness. Just a few days later she said: "I want people to have the freedom to express themselves. I want the city to drop the charges. I would love to be able to go to museums and see stuff like this happen on any scale."
Now at least some of Neill's wishes are coming true — the NY Post reports that the Manhattan DA's Office dropped its case yesterday. According to her lawyer, Tom Hillgardner, their decision was likely based on fear that they had no case, and "moving forward would expose a legal loophole that essentially allows most public nudity." In fact, when it all boils down to it, pretty much everything except topless sunbathing and topless waitressing whilst handing out promo materials is legal. Or as Hillgardner puts it: "you can go stark, raving, completely nude in Times Square, or Rockefeller Center or the Metropolitan Museum of Art." Game on?
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Attention pasty white "artists"
Just because it's legal doesn't mean we need to see your flabtastic sack of flour bodies gyrating all over the place.
i don't know dude, i think she's pretty hot (NSFW):
http://animalnewyork.com/2009/08/kathleen-neills-other-nude-photo-shoot/
All she's doing is empowering some New School kids to occupy buildings naked.
don't be an uptight square. shit happens when you party naked so leave your fig leaf mentality at home.
Ok, they can occupy naked. But a nightstick to the balls isn't exactly going to be a picnic.
you tell 'em hotstepper!
buttface will rue the day he objected to public nudity.
Oh, game on, my friend.
I don't understand why people (artists, photographers) keep getting arrested for shit that's not illegal. Why is the NYPD so ill-trained?
Most of them know it isn't illegal but they make arrests anyhow to discourage such dissent. The person is arrested, fingerprinted and them has to hire a lawyer. NYPD isn't held accountable for such false arrests
Because...seriously? It isn't illegal to go junk-out naked in the middle of a museum? I mean, if that really is the law...hey, great, "now it's a party." But I think it's asking a lot of police to recognize that it's now totally legal to drop trou in the Metropolitan. (If it really is -- I have doubts.)
The photography thing is a different story -- a court has settled that issue, and by this point the police should have gotten the message. Same with street artists -- there's been a lawsuit, the cops should know by now.
But did anyone really know that it was legal to go "Fully-Naked Cowboy" in Times Square? And are we really sure that's the law? I haven't looked into it, but I'm skeptical -- I'd bet that the law isn't nearly as clear as the defendant's lawyer wants to make it out to be.
The museum (or any other establishment) is free to maintain its own standards for attire. They can simply ask any offending member of the public to leave. If they refuse, then the police can haul them in for trespassing.
that you have your doubts as to the legal status of certain actions is perfectly fine, but no! I do not think it is unreasonable to expect the police to stay up to date on the law and to know whether or not something is illegal. i sincerely hope that your assertion that it's asking too much for the police to know the law is satirical, because while most of them don't know it, it is in fact their job to do so.
Um, what's not illegal about stripping naked in a wide-open space? The NYPD was spot-on- it's public lewdness, simply put.
Puritans are always scared that if public nudity is deemed to be legal that the streets will run rampant with naked people. They never seem to realize that their own prurient thoughts are what fuels that delusion.
I like how the other people in the photo look completely unfazed.
I'm pretty sure you can not show your genitals, but women can absolutely go around topless anywhere they want the same as men
and i encourage them to do so.
+1
You couldn't be more wrong. Case law says unless it's for breastfeeding, you absolutely CANNOT just be a woman and wakl around topless.
The case law says the opposite, youngpro:
See NY v Santorelli from 1992.
youngpro has been wrong in every assertion he's made over the last few days. He should remember the quote attributed to Abe Lincoln about keeping your mouth shut.
You can absolutely be a woman and walk around topless in NY. Remember, toplessNY day in NY?
Plus, people should totally be allowed to be naked in museums and other places of art if they want to.. I mean, nudes have been used in art for thousands of year.. as long as people stop sexualizing it, it's just a naked body. It's not a big deal
if people stopped sexualizing the naked body, then people stop.
"I'm an artist and I've run out of ideas -- everyone take their clothes off!"
"Wait -- how about in public! That's a terrifically original idea! Call my publicist!"
Yawn.
Where are all the copycats for this crime?
Some of her best naked art http://animalnewyork.com/2009/08/kathleen-neills-other-nude-photo-shoot/kathleen-neill-2/
coattails.