Artist cleared of indecent exposure for semi-naked Barbie performance
An artist who appeared partially naked in performances in several Paris galleries was acquitted on charges of indecent exposure on Wednesday.
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A Paris court acquitted Déborah de Robertis, finding that "the artist's gesture was not indecent exposure ... given current moral standards in France".
The artist staged one of her performances at a 2016 exhibition of Barbie dolls at Paris's decorative arts museum, appearing in a blonde wig, a flesh-colored combination revealing her breasts and fake but abundant pubic hair.
Her aim was "to show the body of a real woman", she told the court, pointing out that "Barbie has no nipples and no sexual organs".
She was also prosecuted for another half-naked appearance at the French capital's European photography museum.
The verdict "is to the credit of the legal system's judgement of artists", her lawyer Tewfik Bouzenoune commented, while de Robertis declared herself "satisfied" with the decision.
De Robertis, who has duel Franco-Luxermbourgeois nationality, hit the headlines in 2015 when she exposed her vagina in front of Gustave Courbet's The Origin of the World, which is a painting of a vagina.
She intends to continue her performances in other museums.
The decision of the court "restores [my] work to where it should be, in art".
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