Why are parents in an uproar over the itzik asher sculpture?”
The bronze statue parked outside Addison Plaza shopping center, west of Delray Beach, is drawing the ire of parents of children who attend nearby Morikami Park Elementary School. “My daughter has been joking about it,” said Jeffrey Cohen, whose 6-year-old daughter attends summer camp there. “She shouldn’t be talking to me about this.” The anatomically correct figure is part of a sculpture by artist Itzik Asher titled Journey to the New, which represents the journey of Russian and Ethiopian Jews from their homes to Israel. It depicts a family — a father, a mother holding an infant and an older child by the hand. The figures are larger than life and elongated. Their nudity is subtle. “It’s a figurative piece, somewhat abstract,” said Richard Caster, who owns the shopping center and has other large sculptures peppering its front lawn. “It’s natural and beautiful.” Caster said he’s received some complaints, but also praise. He said he rotates the sculptures throughout the shopping plaza.
The sculpture by artist Itzik Asher and titled Journey to the New. It is supposed to represent the journey of Russian and Ethiopian Jews from their homes to Israel. But parents of children attending the nearby elementary school are not impressed. According to Florida’s Sun Sentinel Jamie Garroway, Morikami Park PTA president, said she found it distasteful and e-mailed parents Wednesday morning, asking them to file complaints with Caster and with Palm Beach County Code Enforcement. Asher is a respected and often brilliant sculptor who moved from Israel to Boca Raton in 1989. That move marked the start of Asher ’s Journey period. Since then his monumental bronze sculptures have been installed permanently or exhibited temporarily in numerous public spaces in the United States. (Read more about Itzik Asher) His previous works were not without controversy – in 1995, the Boca Raton City Council made him cover the private parts of several of his sculptures with cardboard fig leaves. The leave
