New work by Chagoya won't be displayed in Colorado Museum

THE ASSSOCIATED PRESS
February 24, 2011

COLORADO — A pastor at a Loveland church has withdrawn an offer to the city museum to display a portrait of Jesus by the same artist whose work was destroyed by an intruder at the museum last fall. The Rev. Jonathan Wiggins of Resurrection Fellowship says he's withdrawing the offer as a precaution. California artist Enrique Chagoya tells the Loveland Reporter-Herald that he agrees. In October, Kathleen Folden of Kalispell, Mont., destroyed a lithograph by Chagoya that was on display at the Loveland Museum/Gallery. She and other critics called the work obscene, saying it depicted Jesus Christ in a sex act. Chagoya said his work was a critique of spiritual corruption. He painted the portrait for Wiggins after the two exchanged emails and talked. Folden has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminal mischief. [link]