Woman pleads guilty in destruction of artwork

[November 20, 2010]  LOVELAND, Colo. (AP) -- A Montana woman accused of entering a Colorado museum and destroying a piece of art, which she thought was obscene, pleaded guilty Friday to misdemeanor criminal mischief.

Kathleen Folden, 56, a truck driver from Kalispell, Mont., originally was charged with felony criminal mischief. As part of her plea deal, she will serve 18 months of supervised probation, receive mental health treatment and perform 24 hours of public service, said Linda Jensen, spokeswoman for the Larimer County district attorney's office.

A hearing is set Jan. 28 to determine what restitution she should pay for destroying the lithograph in October.

The work "The Misadventures of the Romantic Cannibals", by California artist Enrique Chagoya, drew protests and calls for its removal from the city-owned museum by critics who said part of it portrayed Jesus Christ engaged in a sex act.

Authorities said Folden told them she drove from Montana to destroy the work. She used a crowbar to smash the covering over the lithograph and ripped it, police said.

Witnesses in the museum said Folden screamed, "How can you desecrate my lord?"

Chagoya, a professor at Stanford University, has said the work was mischaracterized. He said while the part in question is suggestive, it's not graphic and is a critique of religious institutions, not people's beliefs.

The work, one of 30 limited prints, was part of an 82-print exhibit by 10 artists.

[Associated Press]

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