One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Santa Monica H.S. Photography Teacher Replaced After Discovery That His Students Shot 'Artistic' Semi-Nudes
Photo by polaroid-girl via the LAist Featured Photos pool
A photography teacher at Santa Monica High was replaced by a substitute teacher after it was discovered that his students were taking semi-nude portraits.Whether the teacher Allan Barnes was fired or resigned isn't clear, but either way parents and students are furious: they want him back.
"Clearly the students involved were doing what all thoughtful, challenging teenagers do: dancing close to the defined limits while exercising their artistic muscles," parent Marianne Borgardt told Santa Monica Patch.
Carina Ramirez, 17, was one of the student photographers whose semi-nude photos caused a stir. She used the on-campus photo studio to take one picture of a couple hugging. Other shots (that you can see on Patch) show a woman's back and her side. There are no nips, no pubes. Some of the photos were hung up in a student art show, and others were taken for her college portfolio.
"I focused on backs, ribs and bones," Ramirez told Patch. "I never thought they would be taken the wrong way."
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
