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Junk or art? Copperhead Road says "art"
Posted: 12.09.2011 at 9:57 PM
Abbie Burke

Abbie Burke is a general assignment reporter for FOX21 News.

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This sculpture is called "Colorado Redneck Stonehenge" but is it art or junk?  / FOX21: Adam Jukkola
Photo

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Some objects outside a local nightclub are stirring up controversy. Are they art? Or are they junk?

Copperhead Road has several sculptures made out of old cars outside their popular night club.

"Earlier this summer we thought it would be a good idea to start cleaning up the outside of the property," Justin Carter, General Manager, said.

Carter s aid they chose pieces they thought complimented their business.

"We do things a little different around here, if you haven't already noticed, and so just doing a regular sod job wasn't quite cutting it," he said.

And so "Colorado Redneck Stonehenge" was born, or to the non-artists: a car stacked on top of two other cars.

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"99.9 percent of the people who come through this parking lot and come here absolutely think it's cool. They think 'hey that's my bar I go to, they're a little different on the inside, and they brought it to the outside,'" Carter said.

But one man's trash is another man's treasure, and while the "junkers" are treasure to Copperhead Road, some still think they are just trash.

"I went out and drove past it, I just has this tremendous curiosity to see what this 'redneck artwork' looked like," Tim Leigh, City Councilmember, said.

Leigh said the sculptures are definitely interesting but wasn't as quick to call them art.

"You have a car that's sitting on the lot, that theoretically would be a junker, and would by zoning be hauled off and then you put it on a pole and it becomes art? That's a little bit of a stretch for me I think, but it is somewhat interesting," Leigh said.

Recently the city has told Copperhead Road that they are violating a zoning issue, and they must either take the cars down or file for a "use variance."

"The city code says that if you have partially dismantled junk or vehicles on your property that you need to have a junkyard permit for it. It also says that we're not allowed to have a junkyard permit and a liquor license in the same establishment, so we can't even get a junkyard permit if we wanted to," Carter said.

Carter added they have applied for a use variance which would allow the city to make an exception if they want to.

"I think art is in the eye of the beholder. If it's our lot and it compliments our business and who we are then I think there should be a special exception for it," Carter said.

Carter said the cost to file all the paperwork will run them about $3,000. He said that money could be better spent on the local economy.

"There's a lot of people that we've paid to do the work, and we have a lot more work left to be done that we'll be hiring local electricians, contractors, landscapers, welders, plumbers, and we can't do that right now because we're kind of on hold for some art," Carter said.

According to Carter the "Redneck Stonehenge" is just one part of his plan for the outside of the club. He said he wants to add more large sculptures such as a 20 foot tall cowboy.

"I think when the total project gets complete people are going to be a little bit better to accept it. If you look at our original drawings and what we've submitted on our plan, like I said we're barely over the 50 percent mark, when it's completely finished and lit up it's gonna be a pretty cool place to bring your friends who are from out of town, or just an average tourist passing through," Carter said.

Carter said he feels like the city is targeting them, but Leigh said that's not true.

"The city does not have time or energy to pursue somebody because of a class of business that they are in. The city is not gonna go and tee up and pursue a bar on the face of the fact that it's a bar," Leigh said.

He also added he thinks the issue will work itself out and isn't something people should get upset about.

"While it is something that is important and we'll have to deal with it, I gotta tell you on a Friday afternoon I went and looked at it I was kind of entertained. I'm just not gonna spend a lot of time worrying about that outcome because I think there are processes in place that will resolve itself," Leigh said.

Carter said they expect the city's planning commission to make a decision within the next month or two.

Copperhead Road Art?
Are the objects outside Copperhead Road junk or art?

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