Kokopelli's Massive Flute

These people need to get a life. Or just get laid.

A little too anatomically correct?
Fertility god Kokopelli moved from view in state park
By Tom Wharton
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:10/02/2008 09:16:01 AM MDT

An anatomically correct sculpture of the humpbacked flute player Kokopelli has been moved from the front of Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum in Blanding after complaints from a local group calling itself the "Values Committee."

Park manager Teri Paul said she planned to remove the Kokopelli sculpture from the park entirely after a group of Blanding residents threatened a protest because the sculpture has a penis. Kokopelli was considered a fertility god and healer by ancient Indian (Native American) cultures.

But Paul decided to relocate the piece instead after another group of residents protested what they said was censorship.

"This [Values Committee] group has let it be known that they are offended by it and would like it removed," said State Parks director Mary Tullius, adding that the group was "complaining that it has male anatomy so it is too phallic for some of the locals. Our intention is to be good partners in the community and we feel like this is a reasonable compromise."

The sculpture by Bluff artist Joe Pachak has welcomed visitors to the museum since 1989. It will be placed today in a less obvious place inside the park, according to Paul.

Paul quoted Pachak, who did not return a call Wednesday, as agreeing to move the sculpture and replace it with another piece because he did not want to "bring any negativity to the museum."

Blanding resident Harold Lyman supported moving the statue. He objected to the anatomical representation on the statue. He objected to the phallic symbol, saying it sometimes appears on rock art and sometimes does not.

Bluff resident Susan Dexter was among those who favored leaving the sculpture in place.

"Kokopelli is just a statue," she said. "Give me a break. It's not like a massive erection like some of the ones you see on the panels. It's nothing like that."

Dexter said the staff was capitulating either to Puritan thinking or local business interests.

"If they are going to be bullied, they should at least announce it so other people can step up," she said. "If a handful of ladies can pressure a state park into changing their displays without anybody having input, that should be outrageous to everybody. . . . These poor ladies have never been to Florence or Rome or any actual art museum. They would be scandalized."

Paul said a female member of the group also complained about datura plants in front of the museum because of their hallucinogenic properties, claiming park managers are encouraging its use. Paul said the native plant is common in the area and will not be removed.

Park officials said the Kokopelli sculpture is a representation of rock art imagery from Arizona's Canyon de Chelly National Monument. It is similar to other rock art depictions of the deity commonly seen throughout the Four Corners Region.

This isn't the first time State Parks and Recreation has removed something from a museum after a complaint.

Shortly after the Rock Creek Nature Center opened at Jordanelle State Park, a state legislator complained about an exhibit that showed domestic livestock can damage riparian areas next to streams and rivers. The photo was removed and the display eliminated.


wharton@sltrib.com

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