According to Kelli McDonald, a reporter known for her insight into Umlauf, mentions one of Charles’s main themes was religion. If Charles was known for his theme of religion then where was the religious appearance in The Family Group? The religion is present in the father-son dynamic. The father holds the son towards the direction of the heavens while the son holds up a religiously charged hand signal of placing the right hand in the sky, palm facing outwards. Furthermore, the direction of his gaze towards the sky signifies he son senses a presence above him. The designing of the sculpture makes it clear the influence is present but, why did Charles not mention the influence of religion in the description of the work? A plausible reason why Umlauf would have to hide his religious influence is due to the secular nature of the University. By placing a work that has definite ties to religion, if mentioned by Charles, would have created controversy and place the sculpture at risk of removal. Although I am not advocating that Umlauf intentionally misled his viewers to the purpose of the sculpture, I am presenting that The Family Group religious influence is apparent, which is not addressed by the artist.
Rather than being at a constant struggle with trying to understand which of the two author purposes from the preliminary reports are