One of the most ridiculous stories to hit the news in quite some time comes from our friends in the good nation of Australia. There, an embarrassing lack of oversight has left one school embroiled in controversy, and they have no one to blame but themselves.
As reported at the New York Post, an Australian Catholic school was forced to cover up a “suggestive” statue Wednesday after complaints rolled in that what was supposed to be a saint handing a boy a loaf of bread looked more like…something not good.
Blackfriars Priory School in Adelaide apologized profusely after a recently completed granite work depicting St. Martin de Porres holding a loaf of bread close to his groin became the center of controversy for obvious reasons.
“Upon arrival, the three-dimensional statue was deemed by the [school] to be potentially suggestive,” Simon Cobiac, principal of the boys school, wrote on their Facebook page. “As a consequence, the statue was immediately covered and a local sculptor has been commissioned to re-design it.”
The sculpture, honoring the patron saint of racial harmony, was created by an artist from Vietnam, and the designs were approved by the school’s executive committee back in May. For some reason, the morons on the board didn’t notice the glaringly obvious fact that the statue was highly suggestive.
It wasn’t until the statue was delivered and sitting in its designated location that the risqué nature of it became apparent. They quickly covered it with a black tarp and will keep it that way until a local artist can “substantially” alter it.
But by the time officials decided to cover it up, it was already too late, as the statue had already been revealed on the school’s Instagram page Friday. Hundreds of comments have flooded in to make fun of the statue and express shock that the statue was ever approved of in the first place.
“This is the first time bread had been unappealing to me in my whole life,” one commenter wrote.
“Who designed that… surely someone has to say ‘mmm big mistake,’” wrote another.
The school’s principal has since apologized for any “concerns and publicity” generated by the work and promised that it will be altered to a more appropriate state. The school’s Instagram account has also posted a photo of the tarp-covered statue, letting folks know that they heard the complaints loud and clear. That’s all well and good, but it still begs the question how on earth the designs were approved of to begin with. It wouldn’t be surprising if someone lost their job over this completely unnecessary fiasco.
Source: New York Post