English

Memories of Sexual Violence: An Interview with Jennifer Montgomery

When art photographer Jock Sturges was arrested in 1990 in San Francisco and charged with taking lascivious pictures of nude children, the art world rallied to his defense. Once charges against Sturges were dropped, the furor died down. With Art for Teachers of Children in 1995, 34-year-old New York film-maker Jennifer Montgomery added a postscript with an unusual twist. Her contribution to the debate over pornography and censorship that was spurred by the Sturges arrest is richly original. Made in black and white for a mere $35,000, Art for Teachers of Children is a deceptively simple-looking film that serves up a number of penetrating insights into some of the most troubling issues of American sexual politics. Montgomery seizes the high ground early by revealing that her film about an illicit liaison between a photographer and his underage student is based on her own adolescent relationship with Jock Sturges in the 1970s. Near the end of the film Montgomery includes nude photographs Sturges took of her, blending them into a montage with photos of the actress in the film.

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