When photographer Jill Greenberg decided to take a lollipop away from a small child, she had a broader purpose in mind.
"The first little boy I shot, Liam, suddenly became hysterically upset," the Los Angeles-based photographer said. "It reminded me of helplessness and anger I feel about our current political and social situation."
As the 27 two- and three-year-olds featured in her exhibition, End Times, cried and screamed, demanding the return of the lollipop given to them just moments before, Greenberg snapped away.
The results have provoked a storm of criticism from internet bloggers. "Jill Greenberg is a sick woman who should be arrested and charged with child abuse," wrote Andrew Peterson on the Thomas Hawk blog.
"It seems absurd that any parent who loved their child would purposefully take their children to Greenberg's studio to then be tormented to the point of emotional outrage."
Peterson's post was soon picked up by other bloggers, and the furore over the pictures spread to popular photography and discussion sites such as Flickr and BoingBoing. American Photo magazine labelled the exhibition the most controversial of the year and a scandal was born.
Greenberg has defended herself, telling the Los Angeles Times: "I've never done anything awful in my life. Pictures of crying children are upsetting, powerful. There is something instinctual that makes you want to protect them ... But people are taking the pictures literally, as if they are evidence of awful things happening to these kids."
But while the internet is agog over the pictures and the possibility of exploitation that lies behind them, the art world has remained blasé.
"People in the photography world, anyone who is sophisticated about photography, knows that this is not offensive," collector and former gallery owner Stephen White told the LA Times. "Taking away a lollipop is not child abuse. There's no irreparable harm. I'm just not sure there's any significance to the photographs either."