California NAACP, Black Artists Protest Asian Sculptor for King Memorial

[bjorkfan]

The California chapters of the NAACP have joined several black artists in protesting the selection of a Chinese artist as the lead sculptor of a giant statue of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Washington, D.C, instead of a black artist.

In a unanimous vote two weeks ago, the California State Conference of the NAACP passed a resolution accusing the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation of "outsourcing" the statue project to China by awarding it to Lei Yixin.

The statue is to be the centerpiece of a $100 million memorial to King on Washington’s National Mall, near the Thomas Jefferson Memorial and the Abraham Lincoln Memorial where he delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. The slain civil rights leader will be the first person of color and first minister to be honored on the Mall.

The resolution says that Lei’s selection flies in the face of King’s beliefs because Lei sculpted numerous statues of the late Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong, regarded by some as a major human rights violator.

"The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation has chosen to outsource the production of the monument to Dr. King to the People’s Republic of China, the country with the worst record of human rights violations in the world, which is an affront to the ideal of human dignity," the resolution says.....

http://www.blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/bawnews/mlkmemorial11707

[Mojorabbit]

1. I hate that

art and artists are sucked in to politics. I understand both sides but I hope they will pick the best artist for the job regardless of ethnicity.

[BrklynLib at work]

2. Well said.

[bjorkfan]

3. It's certainly what MLK preached, the content of character, not skin color.

[demosincebirth]

4. Some seem to forget that.

[Quantess]

9. Art is often closely tied to politics.

Art preference is also subjective, so "the best artist" is a subjective term.
Who is to say who is "the best artist"? Well, that would be the people in charge, wouldn't it.

[Quantess]

5. This is the sort of thing that gets on my nerves.

Of course it should be a black sculptor commissioned to do the work. At the very least, the artist should be American! As if there are no qualified Black American sculptors? Please. I'll do a google search right now and I I'll find one right away. Thoughtless choice of artist.

This sort of thing happens to women's issues as well. I'm a white woman, BTW. Thoughtless gaffes like this are a hint that the people in charge of these projects remain white, middle aged, males. This smacks of paternalism.

[bjorkfan]

7. Would you also oppose a Chinese sculptor for a white American personality?

[Quantess]

8. A Chinese native? Yes, I think that would be inappropriate. Or a Portuguese or a Pakistani native

A Chinese-American sculptor would be acceptable, though. Why outsource to other nations? As if there aren't any great American sculptors available to do the work?

A monument dedicated to a woman who furthered women's rights, for example, should be crafted by a female artist, ideally. A statue of Cesar Chavez would ideally be done by a Hispanic-American. The first choices for who the artist will be should be at least loosely tied to the subject matter.

[Quantess]

6. Black Sculptor Dropped From Head of King Project

WASHINGTON — A black American sculptor was retained a year ago to create a statue of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. for the national King memorial, but was abruptly dropped from the project in favor of a Chinese sculptor.

Selection of the Chinese artist, Lei Yixin, has stirred controversy and has been the object of vocal criticism by Atlanta painter Gilbert Young, who charged Wednesday that the failure to choose an African-American sculptor for the memorial was a "smack in the face" to black Americans.

"It's an insult to me and to all black people," Young said.

Changing sculptors was a "business decision," said a spokeswoman for the Martin Luther King Memorial Project Foundation.

Officials of the foundation...confirmed that King's statue will be carved from Chinese granite."

http://www.coxwashington.com/hp/content/reporters/stories/2007/06/07/BC_KING_STATUE07_COX.html