Edmond statue sidelined for guidelines

EDMOND — City leaders are again debating spending public money on religious art.

Karen Morton said she wants a statue in front of her downtown Edmond store like many of her neighboring businesses. The proposed sculpture is of Jesus Christ surrounded by three children.

"I think whatever your religion, or if you have no religion, it's not an offensive statue,” Morton said. "It's not out there preaching anything.”

The 26-inch tall bronze statue, "Come To Me,” by Tulsa artist Rosalind Cook, would be in front of Sacred Heart Catholic Gifts and Stationery Store at 15 S Broadway.

On Wednesday night, the Edmond Visual Arts Commission shied away from spending taxpayer money to pay for half of the $7,800 sculpture. Commissioners unanimously voted to table Morton's request, saying they will wait until guidelines for acceptable public art are approved.

Morton was disappointed the commission voted to continue her request for two months.

"I wish they would look at it and treat it like other pieces of art,” she said. "We have a big, fat frog in front of the city building. Not all of them are everyone's taste.”

The commission gets $200,000 annually from the city to fund half the cost of approved pieces of public art.

It's the second time in less than a year concerns have arisen that some of that public money could be spent in a way that would blur the line between church and state.

In December, the Edmond commission considered joining with First Christian Church of Edmond to purchase a statue titled "Moses," to be installed at the church, 201 E Second St. If approved, the church and the city government commission would have each paid $8,750.

After public outcry, the commission unanimously agreed in May to let private donors buy the city's stake in the Moses statue.

Edmond attorney Randel Shadid said there has been perception in the community that the commission's decision to help fund the art project as part of the city's arts program violated the separation of church and state. Shadid also spoke for Morton at the arts commission meeting Tuesday.

Since the Moses statue controversy, the arts commission has been reviewing other cities' standards and is considering making any artwork with the primary purpose of promoting religion ineligible for public funding.

Edmond City Attorney Steve Murdock is helping shape new guidelines and hopes to have a draft for the group's September meeting.

Commission member David Woods worried the guidelines may be too narrow.

"What I would hate for us to do at the end of this whole process is to stand up and say ‘we'll have absolutely nothing to do with any religion,'” he said. "We're a multicultural, multireligious, a very diverse community. To say we can't have anything of any religious nature whether it's sponsored by a church or a private business, that's pretty narrow thinking.”