Precious National Park Service denies permit for 45-foot statue of naked woman

The National Park Service has apparently never seen a naked woman before.

On Wednesday, the National Park Service finally denied a permit to Catharsis on the Mall, the group organizing to temporarily bring a 45-foot statue of a naked woman, titled "R-Evolution," to Washington. The NPS cited their concerns about how the statute would impact the "cultural identity" of the area -- which, btw, mostly includes giant groups of tourists in cargo khaki pants.

Okay.

By placing the statue so close to the Washington Monument, acting Regional Director Rick Obernesser said in a statement, the statue would "likely to have an adverse effect on the aesthetics, including the cultural identity, of the area."

It should be noted that the National Park Service doesn't seem to have a problem with the big ol' Washington Schlong Monument.

The park service had reportedly approved a height variance for the statute so it could be part of a brief demonstration in November. Obernesser then sent the group a letter saying that the variance had been issued incorrectly and revoked it.

The group is currently threatening legal action, arguing that the park service violated its First Amendment rights.

"We originally applied for this permit in December 2016 and had every reason to be hopeful that the National Park Service would allow R-Evolution to be installed. We were required to submit detailed plans, engineering drawings, installation schedules, and equipment lists for the project in August, which the NPS spent a month reviewing before it gave written approval of the project in September," the group said in a press release.

R-Evolution originally stood at the Burning Man Festival in 2015. Constructed just a few years ago, the statue is made of steel rods and tubing and includes two layers of geodesic triangles.

The project's artist, Matt Cochrane, wanted to create a female subject who could stand freely and live without fear. The nude woman stands in a mountain yoga pose.

"For her to be able to just stand there and express nothing, just to be present in the moment, is a really powerful statement," Cochrane said.

Organizers hoped to use the sculpture for an event called "Catharsis on the Mall" on Nov. 10-12.

Washington is clearly not prepared to see a giant woman in the nude. Perhaps someone can give her a turtleneck sweater to wear? Or an ankle-length skirt. I know of some nice blouses that would really look stunning on her.

Alternatively, they could just kinda of ... get used to it.