Nothing new about nude sculptures in Loveland

Tillie Fong, Rocky Mountain News

Thursday, July 27, 2006

LOVELAND - There are seven bronze sculptures of nude figures displayed in public places in this city, but only two have generated much controversy.

"There were citizens in Loveland who object to nudity in sculpture," said Suzanne Janssen, business service coordinator for Loveland's Cultural Services Department and liaison to the Visual Arts Commission.

Of the 283 pieces of public art approved by the Visual Arts Commission, 171 are bronze statues, of which seven depict visibly nude figures.

The pending addition of Triangle by Kirsten Kokkin - it shows a nude man and a nude woman holding aloft a nude woman - would bring that number to eight.

A number of residents, including members of the Abiding Love Lutheran Church, have objected to Triangle because of the nudity and its placement at a roundabout near where their new church is under construction.

"It shows nude bodies and it doesn't need to be in a public place like that," said Rev. Kevin Klug, pastor for Abiding Love Lutheran Church.

"I don't think it's appropriate for Loveland."

Since the commission's establishment in 1985 by city ordinance, only two other sculptures have drawn a similar public outcry, Janssen said.

One was Moulding Our Future by Denny Haskew. It shows a nude woman holding a nude child. It was installed in 1990 in Thompson Park in downtown Loveland.

A public hearing was held on the piece after a church group objected to it, Janssen said.

"There were people who shared the religious aspect to their complaints," she said.

The other piece that generated controversy was Spanish Daggers by Jack Kreutzer. The bronze shows a female nude with a bolero hat and hands raised above her head. It was placed in the sculpture garden at Benson Park in 2001.

Residents have occasionally adorned the figure, once placing a red shirt on the sculpture and another time dressing the bronze lady in a hula skirt. "People have a giggle with it," said Janssen. "It's part of the public process."

Five other nude sculptures have been placed in Benson Park with little or no objections from the community, according to Ruth Scott, office manager for the Loveland High Plains Arts Council, which operates the park.

"There hasn't been much controversy with those," Scott said.

Although all 108 sculptures in Benson Park are selected, purchased and placed by the Loveland High Plains Arts Council, all pieces must be approved by the Visual Arts Commission.

Janssen said it's difficult to know why particular nude pieces - such as Moulding Our Future and Triangle - draw criticism, while others don't. "Sometimes it's tough to get people to say exactly what the issue is," she said.

"If it is nudity, we try to explain that they need to understand the intent of the artist and to see the sculpture as more than naked figures."

But she noted that it is the nature of art to provoke different reactions from people. "People have opinions about art," Janssen said.