Shoppers walk past some of the concrete sculptures at Yard Art in Edinburgh in this 2005 photo.
Daily Journal Archive Photo
News from around Johnson County as reported on March 30 in the pages of the Daily Journal and the Franklin Evening Star from the last 111 years.
On this day in 2005, the main story in the Daily Journal was about whether concrete sculptures of nude figures were art or obscenity.
State law defining obscene matter was being cited as the reason why an Edinburgh business was told to move about a dozen statues out of public view because of complaints they were obscene.
The owners of White River Truck Repair and Yard Art questioned whether state law applied to art that anyone can place outside their homes and could be found in museums and textbooks.
Bartholomew County code enforcement officers and sheriff’s deputies told the owner’s of the business it was obscene and should be moved out of public view.
“Personally, I don’t find them offensive,” said Ginger Streeval, one of the business’ owners.
The pieces causing complaints were mostly biblical and historical figures, such as angels and ancient warriors, often sculpted without clothes.
Bartholomew County officials received two complaints about the statues, and citing state law, they said it shouldn’t be in the view of a minor.
State law had said anything displaying nudity could be considered obscene and harmful for children to see. But it also said something is considered obscene if it lacks “serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value for minors.”
“Nudity has been recognized as a part of great art for hundreds, if not thousands of years,” said Ken Falk, an attorney for the Indiana Civil Liberties Union. “If that’s the standard being used to define obscenity, then that raises some serious constitutional questions.”
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Other memorable Johnson County stories from this day
2013
A study had found Johnson County had fewer primary care doctors, nurses and physicians assistants than other central Indiana counties, and should have more.
1989
A former Greenwood city employee was being asked to pay back almost $16,000 after a state audit turned up discrepancies in the Parks and Recreation Department budget.
1988
A former New Whiteland Town Court Clerk was facing civil action as state officials tried to recover nearly $33,000 in missing funds.
