San Francisco, California, June 7, 2007 — San Francisco based painter, Sara Waugh, was informed on May 23rd by a member of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Art Committee that a claim of sexual harassment has been filed against the Art Committee as a result of her artwork, which had been hanging in the building as a part of the “Art on the Walls Project.” Four of the ten paintings on display were removed as a result of the claim. Waugh removed the remainder of the artwork this week to protest its treatment by the CPUC administration.

Waugh speculates that the works offended an employee at CPUC because of nudity in the watercolor paintings. “Allowing one person’s opinion of art to cause its removal is a dangerous precedent to set – it’s drawing a line in the sand,” says the artist. Although CPUC is bound to take the sexual harassment complaint seriously, the decision to remove the art was not mandatory in this situation; nor was the artist informed of the decision. Instead, a conservative judgment was made by the administration to censor the art without explanation to the artist, and without any process by which the artist could defend herself and her art. In addition to the paintings removed, Waugh’s promotional postcards were also taken down from the display. The postcard and two paintings depicted a female nude in an underwater setting. The other two pieces depicted mermaids.

The sexual harassment claim has been filed against the Art Committee, not against the artist. The Committee invited Waugh to hang her work after she submitted an application and provided a link to her art website, www.sarawaugh.com. The person who filed the claim is anonymous, as is customary in sexual harassment cases.

Waugh has received emails and phone calls of support as a result of the harassment case being covered by KTVU News Channel 2 on June 1st. Although pleased with the local support, Waugh says, “Artistic censorship is the last thing I ever expected here in San Francisco – such a progressive and open-minded city.” Waugh continues to investigate this matter and wants to make sure artists showing at CPUC are protected from, rather than victimized by, any irresponsible claims in the future.

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