 You gotta be shittin me what the hell is wrong with people?!
Now even the statue of david is not pc.
Who the hell made that up anyways, pc?
Apr 25, 2001
`David' too anatomically correct for some
JILL KING GREENWOOD
of The Tampa Tribune
If you've got it, flaunt it, the saying goes.
Just don't flaunt it in Polk County - even if it's a reproduction of one of the world's greatest art treasures.
A 5-foot, 500-pound concrete representation of Michelangelo's famous Italian Renaissance sculpture of ``David'' has some of Lake Alfred's citizenry red-faced with embarrassment.
The reproduction of the statue of the Old Testament's David, who defeated Goliath in the classic biblical story, graces the front lawn of the Fountains and Falls shop in Lake Alfred. The statue faces the heavy traffic passing by on U.S. 17/92 in the Polk County town northeast of Lakeland.
It seems Michelangelo's attention to detail when sculpting ``David'''s genitalia have caused some in this city of about 3,800 to take offense. A city code enforcement officer, acting on complaints from citizens, asked shop manager Chuck Cole to place a cloth around the statue's waist.
``If I were standing naked on some street corner, that would be different,'' said Cole. ``But this is a representation of a classic masterpiece. It's art, not obscenity.''
Not according to Jeanne Johnson, owner of the Lake Alfred City Barber Shop, located about a mile from the Fountains and Falls shop. Johnson was driving past the statue recently with her young daughters and several of her daughters' friends when the girls began to point, giggle and comment on the anatomically correct ``David''.
``I didn't even know it was art,'' Johnson said. ``To me, it's just a naked man standing on the side of the road. Once the girls saw it, I found myself in a position where I had to explain what a penis is.''
Johnson and a handful of others complained, prompting City Manager Jim Drumm to research the city's code and statutes to see if the sculpture violated any obscenity laws.
``There's nothing legally we could do about it, since we can't regulate art, but the people that were complaining were demanding that we do something,'' Drumm said. ``As a matter of courtesy, we asked the store owners to put a cloth on the statue.
``It all comes down to what you believe is art and what is offensive. I've never heard of someone complaining about a Michelangelo, though.''
Margaret Miller, director of the University of South Florida's Contemporary Art Museum in Tampa, said the issue of some being offended by detailed genitalia in art is not a new one.
However, Miller said, it's not the explicitness of ``David's'' anatomy that offends her in this instance.
``I'm most bothered by the fact that someone has turned a classic piece of art into a lawn ornament,'' Miller said. ``But to alter it in some way is the most obscene gesture of all. Covering it up really bastardizes the integrity of the piece.''
The more modest version of ``David'' has attracted more attention than the completely nude one, Cole said. Motorists have stopped to have their pictures taken with the statue, and some have even taken a second to peek under the cloth.
And since the hype shows no signs of slowing down, Cole said he'll replace the old cleaning rag that currently graces ``David's'' waist with a leopard print bandanna in the coming days. ``I figure if I'm going to have to cover him up, I might as well do it in style.''
People offended by a piece of rock that is art. I find it sad, "I didn't even really know it was art..." That guy is a pathetic pos. And as if his girls didn't know what a penis was. Anyways hasn't man had a penis for uh, hmm, as long as we've been around? Why the big deal? That's like being modest about having facial hair or an adam's apple.
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2001-04-26, 20:18
