Ohio artist offers legless Santa and crazed tree

[December 04, 2008]  OBERLIN, Ohio (AP) -- A northern Ohio artist known for envelope-pushing holiday displays is back -- with Santa Claus in a wheelchair being pushed down stairs by a crazed tree.

The Santa in Keith McGuckin's installation at the Oberlin Public Library has no legs because of an accident involving alcohol and some power lines. An accompanying narrative explains that the tree later goes off to a strip club with money from Santa's Salvation Army kettle.

McGuckin's holiday creations have been raising eyebrows for years. His 2006 gingerbread Nazis drew so many complaints he was forced to remove them from a hardware store window.

Library director Darren McDonough said the latest display is staying. He jokes that if a library doesn't have something that offends, it's not doing its job.

___

Information from: The Chronicle-Telegram, http://www.chronicletelegram.com/

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.