State park relocates statue of flute player

A state park in Blanding has moved a statue of a humpbacked flute player over objections the figure was offensive because it is anatomically correct.

Edge of the Cedars State Park moved the sticklike figure from the front to the back of a museum where it can't been seen from the street, said park manager Teri Paul.

The sculpture by Bluff artist Joe Pachak has welcomed visitors to the park for 19 years, yet raised objections only recently from a group of Blanding's more conservative residents who were concerned that the figure has male anatomy, she said.

"There are people in the community who felt the opposite way," Paul told The Associated Press on Thursday. "So, our solution — I believe we have served everyone the best we possibly can. It's not right in the front of the museum on the street where everyone can see it."

Blanding resident Harold Lyman told The Salt Lake Tribune, which first reported the controversy, that he supported moving the statue. Lyman objected to the phallic symbol, saying that because it isn't always depicted on rock art it's not an essential part of the image.

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

"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 told the Tribune.

The flute player is a Hopi clan symbol that's often confused with the ancient fertility god Kokopelli. Tribal elders specifically asked the park to make the distinction clear to visitors, Paul said.

At first park officials were going to ban the figure from the park altogether. But another group of citizens complained of censorship.

The statue depicts an image commonly found on rock panels in southern Utah, a man believed to be announcing the arrival of spring with a flute.

The work is among several pieces of Pachak's sculpture that grace the 17-acre heritage park, which features the excavated ruin of an ancient settlement. The artist didn't return a telephone message left by the AP at his home Thursday.