Nude sculptures irk a few, offer lessons in tolerance, history for others

[Kadie]

Nude sculptures irk a few, offer lessons in tolerance, history for others
By CHRISTINA DeNARDO

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Monday, July 27, 2009

snip...
The set of three larger-than-life bronze sculptures at the entrance to Addison Plaza in suburban Delray Beach sit just across from Morikami Park Elementary School. They depict the flight of African Jews fleeing war-torn Ethiopia in 1991 to avoid an almost-certain slaughter.

The family is naked - and anatomically correct.

"It just needs to go somewhere else," said Marc Finkelstein, whose children attend the school. "This is not the art district of the world. Kids do not need to see things that are meant for adults. It's not even realistic. It looks like a martian."

In Ethiopia, female toplessness is the norm and in some African tribes men go nude waist-down at stick-fighting tournaments to catch the eye of a prospective bride.

The sculpture entitled, "Journey to the New," by Itzik Asher has been on display at the Palm Beach International Airport, Mizner Park and the Kravis Center before it was placed at the entrance to the Addison Shops on Jog Road south of Linton Boulevard. The Israeli-born Asher, who also has a home in Boca Raton, was commissioned to craft the sculpture depicting the Israeli military mission to fly Ethiopian Jews to Israel, dubbed Operation Solomon, by an American Jewish organization in 1993.

snip...
"What you place your attention on is what is important," said Rick Caster. "If you celebrate the meaning behind this work of art and use it as a teachable moment, that is the lesson a child will take. You've got a couple parents, rabble rousers. They are completely missing the point."

more...
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/services/content/local_news/epaper/2009/07/27/nakedsculpture.html?cxtype=ynews_rss






A statue of a man, woman and child naked at the Addison Place plaza, west of Delray Beach is seen in a July 23, 2009 photo. Parents of children who attend a nearby elementary school say the bronze statue is inappropriate. The sculpture is by artist Itzik Asher and titled 'Journey to the New.' It is supposed to represent the journey of Russian and Ethiopian Jews from their homes to Israel. It was previously displayed at other locations in the area.
(AP Photo/ South Florida SunSentinel, Carline Jean) MANDATORY CREDIT

[seabeyond]

1. smilin

finally, .... i get to


:popcorn:

[imdjh]

6. What does the munching symbolize in the context of public nudity?

[MineralMan]

2. Anatomically correct, are they?

From what planet did they come?

[imdjh]

5. They look a bit like the insect species on Enterprise

[MineralMan]

7. Yup. The point, of course, is that they

are abstractions of the human form, sculpted to convey an idea, rather than an anatomy lesson.

Since all the real humans who might view this sculpture presumably have human sexual characteristics, this sculpture should come as no surprise to any of them capable of walking.

Male humans have penes. Female humans have prominent mammary structures. Each person viewing the sculpture can presumably relate the details of the sculpture to their own bodies, unless they are blind or pseudohermaphroditic.

Therefore, I see no reason for their complaints.

[imdjh]

9. I think Marc Finkelstein just volunteered to be the poster boy for boorishness. nt

[MineralMan]

13. Yah. He wants to keep the nekkid statues for adults only,

like himself. Children shouldn't see genitals until they grow their own, I guess.

[imdjh]

3. This is the reason I could never hold public office. I refuse to surrender my right to say 'grow up'

... to idiots.

Once again, like "abstinence education" we're talking about a total of five minutes to deal with this.

Assemble the kids around the statues, tell them that if they have any giggling or silly remarks to make, now is the time to get it out of their system. Wait 30 seconds, and then tell them what the sculpture is about. Then back to arithmetic. Repeat this process with their parents if necessary.

[MajorChode]

22. We live in a country where the AG covered up a nude statue with a curtain

The days of slapping the shit out of someone and telling them to grow up are long gone.

[qb]

4. The sooner children understand that human beings have genitalia...

the less shocked they will be when they grow up and discover it for themselves.
:sarcasm:

[sinkingfeeling]

8. I'm sure there's a lot of people who would be willing to destroy this statute as well.

[imdjh]

10. Pornography. Renaissance pornography.

[MineralMan]

12. Well, geeze, the least the sculptor could have done was

put a jock strap or something on that, doncha know. What a hack!

[TheWraith]

11. Um, are these supposed to look like something out of a bad sci-fi movie? nt

[MineralMan]

14. Yes.

[LeftHander]

15. OMG Avert your eyes....

Man parts....

[imdjh]

16. I have an issue with the reporter. WTF has bare breasts and dick dancing got to do with this art?

In Ethiopia, female toplessness is the norm and in some African tribes men go nude waist-down at stick-fighting tournaments to catch the eye of a prospective bride.

What the fuck has this got to do with Ethiopian Jews fleeing genocide in 1991? Or this sculpture?

Christina DeNardo do you see any bare breasts or dick dancing in this photo?

[Igel]

19. Perhaps instead of "Africa" he meant to write "Russia."

The point's well-taken. If it's meant to symbolize the Falasha, perhaps he could have taken pains to make them less goyim-like (or perhaps that's what he intends?).

Any indication the man's circumcised?

[imdjh]

20. An interesting detail perhaps.

Looking around on the web, it seems that some of them are circumcised and that they also practice "female incision". Their heritage is disputed:

from Britannica:

The Falasha call themselves House of Israel (Beta Israel) and claim descent from Menilek I, traditionally the son of the Queen of Sheba (Makeda) and King Solomon. Their ancestors, however, were probably local Agew peoples in Ethiopia who were converted by Jews living in southern Arabia in the centuries before and after the start of the Christian Era.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

17. I grew up around art all my life

including nude statues. I think seeing them from an early age made me less curious about what boys looked like. I saw nudity as natural. Still have no inhibitions about it.

[TlalocW]

18. Man, those statues are hot! HOT HOT HOT!

I mean, look at them... They're carved out of black stone, catching the rays in South Florida? You could probably fry an egg on them.

TlalocW

[surrealAmerican]

21. We need a better term than "anatomically correct" to describe ...

... abstract sculptures with genitalia. Perhaps "anatomically complete"?

[imdjh]

25. Simply "with" or "without". It's almost British.

[Strong Atheist]

23. I am in favor of a clothing optional world. This is a small step in the correct

direction...

[JitterbugPerfume]

24. Good Grief

If their kids are that "delicate" maybe they should be exposed to art. It tends to expand your understanding of the world, so that you grow up to be a lot less borish.