Much Ado In Loveland: The Recall

The sculpture at the center of the controversy over public nudity.

The "Triangle" is now facing a recall petition to be removed and relocated due to some Loveland residents' "sensibilities" (video):

"A lot of them are concerned for their children," said former Loveland city councilman Larry Dassow. "They would rather have their own time and place to introduce their children to something like nudity."

Like, when they're 35.

Dassow is leading an effort to have the statue moved to a less public location, like the city's Benson Park Sculpture Garden. About 150 people have signed a letter that will be presented to the city council Tuesday night. "We want to convince the city council and visual arts commission to place it in a different place where it's not a drive by kind of viewing thing," said Dassow.

This is America, and they have every right to petition and make their hang-ups public.

Artist Kirsten Kokkin says she doesn't mind criticism but would be upset if her sculpture is moved. "To try and override a decision and think that people who really don't know anything about art are going to make a decision better than they (the visual arts commission) have done, it doesn't feel good to me," Kokkin said. "I am shaking my head about the fact that this sculpture created such an uproar because I don't think it's a very controversial sculpture."

Some sidewalk critics who saw the statue Tuesday agreed. "I don't see anything pornographic about it at all," said Laura Danaher. "It's beautiful. The human body is beautiful, even when we get old."

However, Loveland resident Terri Bellinghausen, who rode her bike out to look at the statue, has another opinion. "We understand that it's raising up humanity," Bellinghausen said. "But I'm not sure I like looking at naked sculptures."

Like the Rev. Kevin Klug of Abiding Love Lutheran Church said, "if you stood by the statue looking like that, something would happen to you." Envy? Feelings of inadequacy? Sexual stimulation? Please, be more specific.

Other than a zealousness to save the innocence of their children--who will see graphic sexual imagery as opposed to simple nude sculpture--in popular culture, on the internet and from a variety of other sources, including their friends, there has been little in the way of a cogent argument against the sculpture's placement, aside from platitudes about the "Triangle" not conforming to local standards of decency. Given the presence and placement of the other sculptures around town (linked below) both in their nudity and public visibility, both arguments fall flat.

Previously:
Much Ado II: More "Offensive" Nudes In Loveland
Much Ado In Loveland: Proposed Sculpture Arouses Community Ire

technorati: loveland triangle kirsten kokkin sculpture nudity