A statue of limitations Social conservatives creating storm in Montgomery County By HARVEY RICE and BETH KUHLES Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle CONROE -- A group of Montgomery County social conservatives is claiming two more victories -- one in the form of a new library review policy, the other in the form of a plaster fig leaf. The latter recently was placed strategically on a replica of Michelangelo's classic statue of David, which had stood nude atop a sporting goods store in the town of Shenandoah. The former was adopted Monday after long debate before Commissioners Court, giving the head of the Republican Leadership Council occasion to claim another success with commissioners. Although the council failed early this year to oust the county Republican Party's longtime chairman, council President Jim Jenkins counted the new library policy as a win. But the head of the county Democratic Party warned that commissioners could be headed down a dangerous path. "The clear and apparent effort that the Commissioners Court made over time in incremental steps has been to appease a very impassioned group of voters in hopes that each baby step would satisfy them and make them go away," said Democratic Chairman Raymond McNeel. In listing what he considered his group's recent victories, Jenkins said the RLC also has persuaded commissioners to use an Internet filter to screen computers at the library for p*rnography and to put plaques reading "In God We Trust" in county libraries. The group also supported recent efforts to add the touch of modesty to the statue, he said, and remove some art from an Italian restaurant. But McNeel warned that if commissioners think they have satisfied the group, they may be in for a surprise. click for complete article
the whole town must be sleeping well now since all the "hedonistic" influences have been put out. all the virgins will stay that way now, by GOD!.....
Actually, I'm glad they moved the statue, though for different reasons than the Montgomery County Modesty Police. Maybe I'm old fashioned but does anyone else feel that a classical piece of art and commerce are incompatible? Somehow, using Michelangelo's David to sell sneakers and golf clubs seems sacreligious and just plain tacky. Of course, the Modesty Police are more concerned that their children will see a male member. Oh the humanity . . .
Man, they should keep that stuff up for pure kitsch (or is it camp, I always blur the kitsch/camp distinction) value alone. A baroque Oshmans with renaissance statuary? Jesus what kind of frustrated stripmall wannabe architect conceived of that! I would drive out there to show it to out of town visitors.
The statue is a little out-of-place, to say the least, but nothing is worse than imposing your own particular version of morality on everyone else. I wonder when the head of the RLC is going to be caught in a Gentlemen's Club.
Actually, talk about a marketing gem! Is your average sporting goods consumer going to buy tennis shoes from Oshmans because they have a statue of David on the roof? Oak leaf or not? Of course not. (I've driven by that store dozens of times, even stopped in a couple of times, and never even paid attention to the statue.) Would it make sense for Oshman's to get into a fight with the conservatives in a conservative community over keeping the statue in it's 'natural' form? Of course not. It would alienate some conservative customers, without bringing others in. It makes sense to add the oak leaf. Up it goes. What does Oshman's gain? They get the goodwill of the conservative groups, showing that they are responsive to the community. For a while, they will also get the people who want to see the controversial statue. Best of all, they get a front page advertisement for their new store on the front page of the Chronicle, as well as all the local newscasts, for free. Thousands of dollars in advertising, and publicity you couldn't buy, for a couple of hundred bucks worth of plaster? Genius.
If they really want to get some attention, I think they ought to put a baseball cup on the statue instead of a fig leaf.
Doubt it...I'm wondering why it's a big deal that someone doesn't want a schlong statue in a shopping center in their community. I can see why that would be objectionable.
You do realize that it's a replica of one of the most famous works of art in history, right? I've seen that sculpture many times, and I've somehow managed to make it alright. These wackos would be better off focusing their energies somewhere else. I wonder what the teen pregnancy rate is in Montgomery County? Or the high school dropout rate? Or the literacy level? However, I'm guessing these idiots would be blaming all those problems on this famous sculpture.
Where did you see it? At the local HEB? Somehow I doubt it. So it's a famous schlong. Big deal. They still don't want it in one of their shopping centers. The fact that you've seen it and have no problem with it really has no relevance here. What if it was in the middle of a playground? Would that be okay? Or how about out in front of a daycare? I'm sure the little kids would understand that it was "famous".
Freak makes some legitimate points...free speech is not an absolute right, and is often limited by place and circumstance. having said that, i can't imagine spending the energy necessary to get that concerned about this...
Yeah, good thinking. I think that post is objectionable. You should put a big electronic fig leaf over it because a few people don't want to read it. I mean, it is a public website and all. Have some decency. Seriously, that statue looks pretty high up. Do you think those people drive around Montgomery County with binoculars looking for replica phalluses? They should get jobs or something.
Oh, I love this story! I am waiting for the Super Wal-Mart in Palestine, TX to have a series of Rodin's in the garden center. What about a mural of Guernica at the Pancho's in Pasadena? This place takes the cake, though..all of the Mediterranean is represented. There are touches of Greece, Venice, Florence, Rome..the PetCo is going to have a gallery of the famous Dogs Playing Poker paintings soon. Yay Kulture! I can just picture all of these Christian morons out in the parking lot with telescopes checking out David's crank...I wonder if anyone of these nitwits ever got offended by, I don't know, somebody starving somewhere? The good news is that they can replace the fig leaf to suit seasonal sales...a shamrock at St. Patrick's Day ("The Top O' the Morning Sale"), a Miseltoe at Christmas, etc.
Why would that matter? I have thousands of images of nudes in various books that my children will eventually see. It is called art. Children go to art museums where there are nudes, anyway. True, in this country there is a taboo even with art that was acceptable to be displayed in a public square 498 years ago, but that has nothing to do with art. Maybe if children in our country learned about art instead of video games it wouldn't be a big deal. Funny how it's "schlong" is more important than the fact that it was a damn near impossible work to create and that many had failed trying.
