New MLK Monument Carved In China

mudwhistle

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This is a major disappointment.

The original artist tasked to carve a statue of Rev. Martin Luther King jr. backed out over artistic differences. He said that they wanted something that was too ostentatious for such a humble man. He felt that MLK wouldn't want a 30 ft tall statue of himself.

So instead a Chinese artist was hired. Martin Luther King memorial made in China - Telegraph

I think it is a great rendering....but please. Can't we keep anything from being outsourced anymore.

BTW, some are saying that it looks more like Mao then MLK.

You be the judge.
 
Last edited:
Date for ML King Jr. monument dedication reset...
:confused:
New date set for MLK memorial dedication
11 Sept.`11 WASHINGTON (AP) – Organizers have set a new date in October to dedicate the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial after Hurricane Irene forced them to postpone the event in August, days before 250,000 people were expected to attend.
The memorial's executive architect Ed Jackson Jr. told The Associated Press on Sunday it will now be dedicated Oct. 16 on the National Mall. A formal announcement is expected this week. The dedication had been planned as the culmination of a week's worth of events on Aug. 28, the 48th anniversary of King's "I Have a Dream" speech. But when Hurricane Irene swept through Washington with high winds and rain, organizers agreed to an indefinite postponement because of safety concerns. President Obama had been slated to speak in August and is now scheduled for the new date, Jackson said in an email. Memorial foundation President Harry Johnson had been emphatic that the first black U.S. president should take part.

Oct. 16 will be the 16th anniversary of the Million Man March on the National Mall. The 1995 march was organized to galvanize black men to improve their lives and let their voices be heard. King, who was slain in 1968 in Memphis, Tenn., is the first person of color to be honored with a memorial on the mall. It is surrounded by memorials to presidents —Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The King memorial features a 30-foot statue of the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize winner with a stern gaze and crossed arms. To each side of the statue is an inscription wall with 14 quotations from King's speeches and writings throughout his life. The postponed dedication was the latest in a series of delays and obstacles in the effort to honor King. The effort was started 27 years ago, and Congress authorized the memorial in 1996. Since then, there have been skirmishes over who would sculpt King's likeness, where the granite would come from and who would control the mammoth $120 million fundraising effort.

Thousands have already visited the site, including some who turned out the day the dedication was originally scheduled, once rain from Irene had stopped falling. "I feel like crying, but I don't want to," Jeffrey Tyler, a 16-year-old student at Cleveland's Lincoln West High School, said when he saw the memorial on Aug. 28. "To see a black man up there, it made me feel really proud of myself."

Source
 
It does make him look like an angry, closed off, and distant figure, not at all like Martin realy was. But even if one American artist did grasp what he was all about, why China? Surely America has a plethora of other artists that do terrible art and could have used the money?
 
It does make him look like an angry, closed off, and distant figure, not at all like Martin realy was. But even if one American artist did grasp what he was all about, why China? Surely America has a plethora of other artists that do terrible art and could have used the money?

I really don't care about cost in this matter, we need to keep personal works like this close to home. So if a Pakistani company offered to do it cheaper, we would see Martin dressed in a tuban with a long beard grasping a Quran in his arms.
 
I do agree that the statue does not look like Martin Luther King, Jr. based on all the photos and videos available of him.
 
it needs a touch-up. 3D modelling and a competent sculptor should be able to fix it up in no time.
 
Chairman Mao:
220px-Mao.jpg


The artist's rendition of MLK (with the artist):

mlk-memorial-statue.jpg


Photo Martin Luther King:

king.jpg


Hmmm. Maybe it was an artist's self portrait?
 
Chairman Mao:
220px-Mao.jpg


The artist's rendition of MLK (with the artist):

mlk-memorial-statue.jpg


Photo Martin Luther King:

king.jpg


Hmmm. Maybe it was an artist's self portrait?

The artist did a terrible job, should have went with an American on this.

you're totally right. the artist probable learned by sculpting asian faces and the nuances leaked through. sculpting is way more difficult than drawing and personal style is ingrained after a certain point no matter how skillful you become. a black sculptor would have been a good choice in this situation.
 
It does make him look like an angry, closed off, and distant figure, not at all like Martin realy was. But even if one American artist did grasp what he was all about, why China? Surely America has a plethora of other artists that do terrible art and could have used the money?

Well, perhaps MLK would be jamming to this tune if he were still alive:



[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOfkpu6749w]John Mellencamp - Pink Houses - YouTube[/ame]
 
This statue is a near perfect example of why this nation is going down the shitter.

All we need to is drape it in Chinese-made American flags to complete the picture.
 
Chairman Mao:
220px-Mao.jpg


The artist's rendition of MLK (with the artist):

mlk-memorial-statue.jpg


Photo Martin Luther King:

king.jpg


Hmmm. Maybe it was an artist's self portrait?

The artist did a terrible job, should have went with an American on this.

you're totally right. the artist probable learned by sculpting asian faces and the nuances leaked through. sculpting is way more difficult than drawing and personal style is ingrained after a certain point no matter how skillful you become. a black sculptor would have been a good choice in this situation.

I think you pretty much nailed it Ian, this artist is Chinese after all so he will design a Martin statue through the eyes of a Chinese man, which is what he did. You can't really be mad at him he just did what he was paid to do, I would have really like the sculptor to be an American, regardless of color.
 
Unless we get our act together we'll all be carving Chinese rock for them, soon.

Just waiting for the day when the Chinese Premier visits DC and casually hints "Yano that trillion dollars you owe us? How bout you give us Hawaii, San Diego, and Seattle and we forget about it?"
 

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