MLK statue that cost an arm and a leg ‘too woke and vulgar’
£8m bronze tribute showing activist’s limbs looks like a sex act, say critics
‘It is an especially egregious example of woke callousness and vanity’
A $10 MILLION statue of Martin Luther King Jr has been criticised by a relative as an “egregious example of wokeness” that appears, from some angles, to be obscene.
The 22ft bronze, depicting King and his wife Coretta Scott King, was unveiled in Boston Common to honour the couple ahead of Martin Luther King Day, a holiday marking his birthday.
The Embrace, made up of 600 bronze parts, took five years to complete and is the largest monument in the US celebrating racial equity.
It depicts four intertwined arms, inspired by a photograph of the couple embracing after he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
From one angle, the limbs form a heart, representing the couple’s love. But amateur art critics have been quick to point out the work could have an altogether more vulgar interpretation.
While most of the King family praised the sculpture, critics included Scott King’s cousin, Seneca Scott.
“$10 million [£8 million] were wasted,” he said, adding that the artwork from some angles resembled a sex act.
He questioned what help it brought to “struggling black families” and said the “debacle” exposed the “insidiousness” of “woke movements” on the political Left.
Mr Scott added: “This sculpture is an especially egregious example of the woke machine’s callousness and vanity.
“Hopefully, it will show more black people that these progressives just aren’t in this for our benefit.”
He emphasised that he was not speaking for other family members, but said he felt the 65,000lb sculpture was a “waste of money” that should be “melted down”. His comments were echoed by posts on social media, asking why only the arms were depicted.
Comedian Javann Jones, took issue with the artwork not representing King and Scott King in full. He said: “Show me a white man that was honoured with a statue of only two of his limbs.”
Rasheed N Walters, a Boston Herald columnist, said: “Given that I am not white, I am safe from ANY charges of racism for saying the MLK embrace statue is aesthetically unpleasant.
“The famous photo should have been a FULL statue of the couple and their embrace. What a huge swing and miss in honouring the Dr & Mrs King. SAD!”
However, Martin Luther King III, the couple’s son, approved of the piece. He said: “Boston became the place where they forged a partnership that would change America and make a powerful contribution to the black freedom struggle. That’s what I see in this beautiful monument.”
The artwork was designed by Brooklyn-based sculptor Hank Willis Thomas for the organisation Embrace Boston.
He told the Boston Globe: “This work is really about the capacity for each of us to be enveloped in love, and I feel enveloped in love every time I hear the names and see the faces of Dr King and Coretta.
“This is a work that’s going to be in Boston Common, which has been around for 400 years. So possibly it’s going to be in Boston Common for another 400 years.”
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said she hoped the statue would help “open our eyes to the injustice of racism”.