Statue from France escapes fig leaf in Wisconsin

[Caipora]

A present to La Crosse, WI from its French sister city was scheduled for a fig leaf, and then reprieved:

http://www.lacrossetribune.com/artic...z00council.txt

Several comments on the site indicate that a female nude statue has been in front of the La Crosse library for years without complaint.

The paper says of the man picked to make the bronze figleaf, "Petersen said he understood the rationale to have the groin covered because of so much talk today of child pornography."

Since the statue is based on a Greek original, the model - the "victim" of the "child pornography" - is some three thousand years dead. Perhaps in his case it may be slightly too late to "protect the children."

- Caipora

[Caipora]

A present to La Crosse, WI from its French sister city was scheduled for a fig leaf, and then reprieved:

http://www.lacrossetribune.com/artic...z00council.txt

Several comments on the site indicate that a female nude statue has been in front of the La Crosse library for years without complaint.

The paper says of the man picked to make the bronze figleaf, "Petersen said he understood the rationale to have the groin covered because of so much talk today of child pornography."

Since the statue is based on a Greek original, the model - the "victim" of the "child pornography" - is some three thousand years dead. Perhaps in his case it may be slightly too late to "protect the children."

- Caipora

[hm0504]

Kudos to the people of La Crosse, WI, for sticking up for common sense.

[gARTh]

quote:

Originally posted by hm0504:
Kudos to the people of La Crosse, WI, for sticking up for common sense.

Ditto!

If Le Pinau is any way related to the ancient Spinario, it must be a particularly innocuous and beautiful sculptural addition to La Crosse. The addition of a loin cloth or fig leaf would have been a huge distraction and denegration of this ancient masterpiece.

Garth

[nifocinphx]

quote:

Originally posted by Caipora:
A present to La Crosse, WI from its French sister city was scheduled for a fig leaf, and then reprieved:

http://www.lacrossetribune.com/artic...z00council.txt
[snip]

Here's a follow up La Crosse Tribune article, dateline Tuesday, July 04, 2006

quote:

The unveiling of the Le Pinau statue went off without a hitch — or a stitch — in a ceremony Monday...

A crowd of about 200, including a delegation from Epinal, France, applauded as Benoit Joudain, Epinal’s deputy mayor of finance, pulled a blue cloth off the bronze statue of a nude boy pulling a thorn from his foot...

There were no demonstrations or suggestions the statue’s naked groin, barely visible behind a crossed leg, should be covered...

Link: http://www.lacrossetribune.com/artic...1french704.txt