Guess What? That MLK Memorial Sculpture is Made in China!What a huge insult!
Posted by PT on Aug 4, 2011 in Uncategorized | 8 comments
Personally, I think the statue looks more like a Chinese Louie Armstrong….
More evidence that capitalism is failing the average American: the statue of Martin Luther King destined to stand at a national memorial was outsourced to a Chinese sculptor. And something got lost in translation.
This King looks like rather disturbingly like sculptures of Lenin, Stalin, Mao, and other communist luminaries, all of whom were guilty of genocide.
This image, a model for the actual sculpture, is the best I could find of the King statue Note the aggressive, confrontational posture, the stance, the scowl, as well as the coat and the chiseled (no pun intended) hawkish features on both statues, features neither King nor Dzerzhinsky actually had. The style is referred to as "socialist realism" and its visual elements are what makes art from the Soviet Union and its communist imitators so distinctive. No doubt my friend and co-blogger David could weigh in with greater insight, as visual art's not my thing (I did spend some time in a misbegotten phase studying the socialist realist movement as it applied to literature, but that's for another time), but the similarity of style is such that even my untrained eye picked it up immediately.
Now, joking references to communism and capitalism, and jokes about China aside, I agree with those who are demanding that the statue be reworked, not because I have a problem with communism (though I do), but because this aggressive, "we will bury you" style of memorialization seems horribly inappropriate to Dr. Martin Luther King, who while as bold as any genocidal communist, was a man of peace.
Free at last! Free at last! The massive granite centerpiece of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial – stranded at the Chinese seaport of Xiamen for more than a month – should soon be free at last!
But shipping the 159 carefully carved pieces that collectively make up the “Stone of Hope” will be far from free. And that’s a bit of irony that isn’t lost on those in Barre’s granite industry, who argued vociferously and unsuccessfully against outsourcing the work to China in the first place
.”This whole thing just never seemed right to me,” said John Castaldo, executive director of the Barre Granite Association. “This is work that could have, and should have, been done here in the United States”
Yes John, I agree, but you have to do what the boss says. And we all know who the new boss is now, don’t we?
via What’s On Xiamen.
I wonder how muchit would have cost if someone on America had made it, and what a wonderful way to have honored Dr. King. Wasn’t he all about America being a strong, united country?
I hope his grave does not have room for him to “turn over in” He must be loling as he watches us “honor” him with an import.
selling out this country to china.
fitting for an agitator though.
If I ever get to DC, I will spit on the monument.
MLK was speaking to Americans, about America, and I do believe that he would be the first to stand here and say, a statue to honor the things that happened for the American Black, should be MADE IN AMERICA
January 18, 2013 at 10:23 AM
Martin Luther King Monument. Made In China
Yesterday, a huge statue of a great American was unveiled at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington. However, it has already become controversial with many saying that the statue does not look anything like Dr. Martin Luther King. Other critics say the statue depicts a Chinese person. NPR and CBS news investigated only to discover that the statue was sculpted by Chinese sculptor Lei Yixin. There are so many great Americans designers, look at Apple, look all the great buildings and bridges all across the country. So where were they when this was going on? Why didn’t any of them step up?
Comments (8)