Local doctor wins battle, continues to display car art

Dr. John Corneal recently successfully appealed a citation warning him to remove his lawn art, which some called refuse.

Cars can be art. Texas has Cadillac Ranch. Nebraska has Carhenge. State College has Dr. Corneal.

At night, lovers light up the back of a Volkswagen bug on Dr. John Corneal's 523 S. Atherton St. lawn. The buried front half of the vehicle faces downward nearby. A florescent pink pig, along with a bronze bus, also adorn the lawn.

The State College Health Department issued Corneal a warning to remove those items, what they termed as accumulated lawn refuse, in 1996. When he refused to comply, they issued a citation. In court last Thursday, Corneal successfully appealed the citation.

"The car is the question," Corneal said. "They have never questioned the pig -- they have a pig of their own."

Corneal has a right to display sculptures created from previous vehicle pieces, even though "his might be bad art," District Justice Carmine Prestia Jr. ruled.

Others hold a different view.

"The items are rubbish. The argument is rubbish. He used rubbish car parts. It isn't art," Borough Solicitor Terry Williams said, adding that allowing car parts to accumulate risks the general health and safety of everyone.

The severed car is not sculpture, State College Health Officer Mark Henry said. The parts will possibly result in excessive vermin and attract general nuisance.

"It's also a community aesthetic issue," he said.

The pieces make a political statement, according to Corneal.

"They're pieces of social commentary. The main piece is called Progress," he said.

The sculptures address poor urban planning, Corneal said. Communities become dysfunctional when residents lack easy access to necessary services. The State College Borough must spend more time on the problems of progressively worsening traffic, traffic divertors, noise pollution and urban sprawl, Corneal said.

However, some local neighborhood association members disagree with the idea that the items are making a statement.

"What happened was he could not get his rezoning so he could have offices there. After that he developed a sudden interest in yard art and many people believe that that was spite. The timing is interesting but I cannot speak to his motives," Holmes-Foster Neighborhood Association President Anita Genger said.

The issue boils down to free speech, Corneal's attorney Jim Bryant said.

"It's not as if he's taken a recycling bin and titled a sculpture Yuengling Bottles en Masse. It is maintained and manicured," Bryant said.

More yard art will come soon, Corneal promised. He has space for sixteen new pieces and plans to install a surprise sculpture this week.