The records in the Carol Jacobsen Collection are compromised of materials documenting the "Porn I'mage'ry" exhibit, the controversy and negotiations surrounding the exhibit, and materials concerning the issues of prostitution, pornography, sex work, and censorship. The records are organized into six series: Correspondence Files, Press Clippings and Published Material Files, Original Conference Files, Photographs, Protest and Reinstallation Material, and Videotapes.
Carol Jacobsen is an artist from Ann Arbor, Michigan, whose work often addresses political questions and examines gender issues. In April 1992, The Michigan Journal of Gender and Law invited Jacobsen to curate an exhibit on prostitution to be shown at the University of Michigan Law School in October of that year. The Journal, a law student publication, wanted the exhibit to run in conjunction with a conference it was hosting on prostitution, "Prostitution: from Academia to Activism." Jacobsen agreed to participate, and she curated an exhibit entitled "Porn I'mage'ry: Picturing Prostitutes". The exhibit included videos and photographs by Veronica Vera, Carol Leigh, Susan Aiken, Carlos Aparicio, Paula Allen, Randy Barbados, and Jacobsen herself.
The conference and the exhibit, though organized to run concurrently, represented very different positions on the pornography/prostitution issue. The conference featured Catherine MacKinnon and Andrea Dworkin as major speakers, and generally expressed their anti-pornography, anti-prostitution viewpoint. In contrast, the art exhibit was described by its curator as "pro-prostitute, pro-sex, pro-porn." The artists in the exhibit generally opposed censorship of pornography and supported the decriminalization of prostitution.
On October 30, the first day of the conference, one student organizer removed a videotape from the "Porn I'mage'ry" exhibit. The videotape was a compilation of short films by five different artists. The student organizers explained that conference speakers had objected to the films. Jacobsen objected to the removal of the 5 tapes, arguing that it constituted censorship, and stated that she had replaced them with a back-up set. She stated that the show was again intact and would remain intact. Conference organizers came to her about an hour later and told her to remove the entire show immediately. Jacobsen again objected, but organizers said it was "too late" and went to the auditorium and announced to the entire audience that they had closed the exhibit altogether.
Jacobsen then obtained legal representation from Marjorie Heins of the American Civil Liberties Union and began proceedings against the law school for censoring her work. The following year saw a great deal of debate in the media over the controversy. Meanwhile, Jacobsen and the law school negotiated over a settlement of the dispute. In March, 1993, the Law School and Jacobsen reached an agreement which provided for a reinstallation of the exhibit. In October, roughly a year after the original conference, the "Porn I'mage'ry" exhibit was reinstalled in the Law School.
