More artwork covered in DC

Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft famously insisted that a pair of large metal statues entitled The Spirit of Justice and The Majesty of Law be hidden by an $8,000 set of drapes in the Great Hall of the Department of Justice, because one of Spirit's metal breasts was exposed. Majesty's loins were covered, but Ashcroft ordered the drapes pulled over him, too.

Ashcroft departed, Alberto Gonzales took over at DOJ, and the blue drapery was quietly removed. There's probably no truth to the rumor that the drapes were taken down to allow easier access to rooms full of wiretapping equipment.

But just when you thought public art might be safe for a while in our nation's capital, the General Services Administration has announced that it will be erecting opaque screens in front of 6 murals that have been determined to include images that are "inappropriate for the workplace."

In other words, they depict nudity.

The offensive murals are in a 5th floor elevator lobby of the Ariel Rios Building, which presently houses offices of the Environment Protection Agency. Like their sculpted metallic cousins over at Justice, they've been displayed continuously as public art for more than 70 years. Before the EPA took over the building - before the EPA even existed - the Rios Building was home to the Post Office Department. While the murals have kept silent watch, generations of government employees have somehow managed to catch elevators in those very lobbies. Suddenly, the murals are "inappropriate."

If GSA wants to save a little money on the screens that will protect the people at EPA from knowing that women have breasts, I know where they can find some nice blue drapery fabric.

... Sigh.