Jamaican statues a little too inspiring

Critics of two well-endowed nudes recently installed in the capital city, called Redemption Song, suggest it's the artist who needs redemption.

It's not exactly Michelangelo.

A larger-than-life naked sculpture of two freed slaves - unveiled late last month at Emancipation Park in downtown Kingston, the Jamaican capital - has sparked a furious debate about the artistic merit of its well-endowed subjects.

Unlike the Italian master's colossal but modestly proportioned statue of David, the Jamaican nudes are so anatomically accurate that some critics say they are offended by the female body's voluptuous curves and the man's oversized penis.

The 3,320-pound bronze sculpture portrays a muscular male standing 11 feet tall face to face with a well-toned female about a foot shorter. They are both standing in a cleansing bowl of water gazing upward at the heavens. Titled Redemption Song, it is named after the Bob Marley song, which contained the famous line: "Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery."

The sculptor, Laura Facey-Cooper, a major figure in the Jamaican art world, says she never intended to create a scandal.

"He has very strong muscles in his torso and buttocks. Both the male and female are very well-endowed in every possible way," she has said.

Facey-Cooper's $75,000 work was chosen by a jury from a field of 16 contestants. Critics say a simpler work could have been commissioned for less money from a less recognized artist.

But fans say they can't understand all the fuss. They argue the quality of the work is undeniable, also pointing out that the organ in question is in proportion to the size of the statue.

"The first time I saw it I didn't notice anything," said Kingston lawyer and art lover Tania Nethersole. "There are so many other things to see in that statue. I find it incredibly beautiful. It's awe-inspiring. It speaks about being free from the shackles that bind us, about freeing one's mind and one's self, right down to your natural state."

Since it was unveiled July 31, the statue has attracted large crowds of viewers with differing opinions. The debate has revealed a surprisingly strong conservative streak in the former British colony, famous for its laid-back lifestyle and lewd "dance hall" music culture. In fact, the Guinness Book of Records credits Jamaica with the most number of churches per square mile.

It has also been the hot topic in the local media. After one conservative radio talk show host Wilmot "Mutty" Perkins described it as "depraved" his program was flooded with callers accusing him of "neocolonialist" penis envy.

"Mutty has an aversion to large penises, and I must say, the penis on the statue is large," wrote Mark Wignall a columnist for the Daily Observer newspaper, who accused critics of the sculpture of prudish intolerance.

He went on to say that Jamaicans had no reason to follow European artistic norms regarding the portrayal of genitalia.

An editorial in the Daily Gleaner suggested that those who were offended should avert their look, or "find it possible to elevate their eyes to the expression of spiritual yearning and hope" in the faces of the two former slaves.

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