The question of whether the human figure can play a central role in contemporary sculpture continues to be debated. Even those critics seeming to advocate a meaningful role for the human figure, question its real relevance. Kathleen Whitney, in her 1997 article in Sculpture Magazine (now available in Sculpture Magazine Online), The Body is Exhausted, allows for the human body to play a role. However, this role is a supporting one. The body should not appear as subject: it can appear only to lend contextual significance to the work.