To the editor:

I read with dismay about the reluctance of the Commemorative Coin Design Committee to accept a design of John Steuart Curry’s because it may have been physically executed in another state. In support of Spencer Museum of Art Curator Susan Earle’s statement that the artwork was intended to be allegorical or symbolic, it should be noted that cultural identity, especially the individual artifacts that comprise an important part of it, is impossible without appropriation from other times and places. After all, should all the art collectors in Kansas relinquish their Robert Sudlow oil paintings because he has studied in Europe and borrows heavily from ideas and techniques originally French?

Curry’s spirit is, I would imagine, also dismayed. I think he would be disheartened by the timidity displayed by the committee because it is all too similar to the objections Kansans had to his original designs for the Statehouse in Topeka. Very few, if any, individuals outside the state of Kansas will care about the apprehensions of the committee if the design is chosen.

When Pablo Picasso was asked if he borrowed from other artists he responded “I don’t borrow, I steal!” For the sake of showing a little less insecurity and a little more gumption, use the image in spite of your doubts. Having the image on the coin with the word “Kansas” is all the reinforcement you need.

Paul Hotvedt,

Lawrence