Hollister residents are expressing dissatisfaction with a 30-year-old rock sculpture they believe resembles a phallic shape. The sculpture is situated in front of the County Administrative Building and the residents have been fighting a long battle for years to have it gone. The residents escalated the issue to the San Benito County Board of Supervisors pushing for a change.
“An 8-foot stone sculpture that just happens to look like a penis, I will not tolerate that message from my county government,” said Cheryl Von Booth, Hollister resident.
The artist, Richard Deutsch, drew inspiration from the Pinnacles National Monument. “So, what I did was I chose some of the formations as being the center point for the project in front of your county building,” Deutsch said.
Residents aren’t sold on his answer since some of the community members view the art piece as offensive and inappropriate for the setting. The cost to remove it could range from $20,000 to $50,000.
“This is a phallic symbol and it’s very uncomfortable to walk into this building. Not every woman in this building apparently sees it that way but there are some that feel offended to walk to the building for having us phallic symbol,” said Elia Salinas, Hollister resident.
“I feel that the board needs to be sensitive of public sentiment, that sentiment has been there for a long long time since it was put up there,” said Valerie, Hollister resident.
There are other residents who believe this lengthy battle is just a waste of time.
“I find this insanely juvenile that we are talking about a stack of rocks. This should not be taking up this much time and this much energy,” said Jacob Chlow, Hollister resident.
The San Benito County Board of Supervisors have their own opinions about the shape of the sculpture. “I just don’t know if in front of our county building, this statue makes much sense in some ways it’s a bit tasteless,” said Mindy Sotelo, San Benito County supervisor.
“This is just the nature of art not every piece is going to be universally liked by everyone and that’s okay,” said Dom Zanger, San Benito County supervisor.
A three to two majority of the board decided to gather a committee to investigate the issue further. The committee will take into consideration the cost of shifting the statue and placing a plaque in front of the statue to avoid unwanted interruptions.
In the voting poll, two men were content with keeping the sculpture but the three women were determined to figure out an alternative plan. It’s not hard to understand why gender can influence the final verdict in this case with a phallic-shaped sculpture.