DELRAY BEACH, Fla. -- A new addition to the Addison Plaza shopping center in Delray Beach is turning heads and taking people's breath away, Miami television station WPLG reported.

"When I first saw it, I gasped," said retail space owner Karen Hanlan of a sculpture added to the property in July.

The statue, by renowned Israeli artist Itzik Ashner, is beautifully detailed. But there is one part in particular that's getting all of the attention.

"They're all very much naked. It's definitely out there," said Wendy Rizano.

An anatomically correct, over-scaled statue, entitled "Journey to the New," is of a naked family of Russian Jews immigrating to Israel. The artist loaned the piece to the shopping center. Plaza owner Richard Caster said the statue carries a powerful message.

"It shows people exposed. But why are they exposed? Because underneath the clothing we are all the same," Caster said.

But with an elementary school down the road and a new school year under way, some parents said their children aren't ready for this so-called naked truth.

The Parents and Teachers Association at Morikami Park Elementary School encouraged parents to speak out against the sculpture.

This isn't the first time Ashner's work received negative feedback. In 1995, the city of Boca Raton covered one of the artist's exposed works with a cardboard cutout of a fig leaf. After public outcry, the leaf was removed.

"We will not be putting a fig leaf on this piece. In this case, I think it's fair to say this piece is non-sexual and non-aggressive," Caster said.

Still, others said the work would be better appreciated in a more private setting.

"A museum is a much better platform," Hanlan said.

Caster said the sculpture would remain on display for six more months before joining an exhibit at the Cornell Museum in downtown Delray Beach.