Althouse: MLKin6.

August 23, 2011

MLKin6.

6-word tweets reacting to the new monument.

36 comments:

Joaquin said...: When renaming Main St. just isn't enough.; 8/23/11, 9:43 AM
Tim said...: 1) One Ugly Ass Hunk of Stone.

2) MLK deserved better, but we couldn't.

3) Modern art diminishes man, doesn't it?

4) MLK was passionate; stone is cold.; 8/23/11, 9:47 AM
traditionalguy said...: Wasn't there a saying that, "Your fathers murdered the profits and you build monuments to them?"

The 1960's in Atlanta were a special time for all involved.

I take it that this monument means MLK 's special influence from the 1960s has faded away now.; 8/23/11, 9:57 AM
Anonymous said...: After Obama defeats GOP everywhere in 2012, there will be the start of a monument for him on Mt. Rushmore and in DC.

The GOP cannot win. Their best choices are not running (Ryan, Christie). The best choice among the candidates is Romney, but he will not win the nomination. Thus, Obama wins by GOP foolishness/cowardice.

It is impossible to understand the GOP mentality (assume they have gray=cells). Palin cannot win (she is quitter). Bachman cannot win (she is living before women's suffrage). Perry cannot win (he is living in wild west with colt 45).

What is GOP thinking? I just cannot understand them. They are like dinosaurs before the comet came to blew them up.

The Democrat Comet, by way of Obama, will arrive in Nov.2012. GOP will be extinct the day after....; 8/23/11, 9:58 AM
Lincolntf said...: Republican Christian Southerner Honored in Capitol; 8/23/11, 10:05 AM
traditionalguy said...: Freudian slip, sorry. " Your fathers murdered the Prophets, not profits.

That is Obama's job.; 8/23/11, 10:05 AM
Carol_Herman said...: It's attractive.

Better than FDR in a wheelchair.; 8/23/11, 10:10 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: I am so unmoved by that thing.

But then, I live in another world,...; 8/23/11, 10:16 AM
Anonymous said...: Steve Sailer on August 18 called it "the kind of farce that H.L. Mencken would have enjoyed. The vaguely Chinese-looking giant statue itself looks like the woozy recollection of some Chinese sculptor who doesn't actually remember MLK (hey, he was busy at the time being Culturally Revolutionized -- Mao didn't even allow mention of the moon landing), nor know many black people, but he does remember Mike Tyson trying to glare down Evander Holyfield at a heavyweight title bout weigh-in (assuming Iron Mike were a little Chinese).

So, we get Martin Luther Ming the Merciless. As a commenter suggests: Martian Luther King."

http://stevesailer.com/; 8/23/11, 10:16 AM
Col Mustard said...: Pulpiteer. Revered by many. Reviled too.; 8/23/11, 10:16 AM
Anonymous said...: Why is Washington's so much bigger?; 8/23/11, 10:19 AM
edutcher said...: One thing Dr King wasn't was cold, and that's how that statue strikes me.

America's Politico said...

After Obama defeats GOP everywhere in 2012, there will be the start of a monument for him on Mt. Rushmore and in DC.

If what I heard on Hannity is correct, Herbert Obama is underwater in OH and MI now.; 8/23/11, 10:39 AM
Skyler said...: 1 Makes
2 Him
3 Look
4 Like
5 A
6 Tough; 8/23/11, 10:47 AM
Peter V. Bella said...: Yawn, stretch, scratch.; 8/23/11, 10:52 AM
Anonymous said...: Jackson and Sharpton corrupted my legacy.; 8/23/11, 10:55 AM
Christopher in MA said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/23/11, 11:01 AM
Christopher in MA said...: Daniel Chester French weeps.; 8/23/11, 11:02 AM
Palladian said...: Nobody can sculpt human figures anymore.; 8/23/11, 12:08 PM
Richard Dolan said...: It's an odd piece, at one level trying to echo the statuary at Mt. Rushmore of a colossal figure emerging from the rock, at another the overtly didactic statuary from the '30s and '40s that used to adorn public buildings (Rocky Center in NY, e.g.). Those efforts turned out to be more iconic than heroic, only large when they wanted to be truly colossal, and on the infrequent occasions when they're thought of as sculpture rather than mere monument, are mostly seen as a not-so-inspiring product and reflection of their times. The contrast with a really good public sculpture that also functions as monument - e.g., Rodin's Balzac - is hard to miss.

I suspect that will be the fate of this MLK piece. Probably just what its sponsors wanted, too.; 8/23/11, 12:26 PM
Crunchy Frog said...: Name for MLK, turn to crap.; 8/23/11, 12:46 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Are they going to leave the sculpture like that, or are they going to finish the back?; 8/23/11, 12:54 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: MLK in carbonite.; 8/23/11, 12:55 PM
Scott M said...: Are they going to leave the sculpture like that, or are they going to finish the back?

Plenty o' funny upthread, FH, but that's the first one that made me actually laugh. Well-crafted.; 8/23/11, 12:56 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Darth Vader was an even bigger asshole than I thought.; 8/23/11, 12:57 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: I went to the website for the memorial. The stone with his form half carved on it is the "Stone of Hope" which stands in the middle of the two sides of the "Mountain of Despair."

No, I am not kidding.

Poor MLK. His monument is going up after we forgot how to do monuments.; 8/23/11, 1:02 PM
Scott M said...: I need you to come hang out with my wife, FH. I find her lack of carbonite jokes disturbing.; 8/23/11, 1:03 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Nobody can sculpt human figures anymore."

Are there any good sculptures of a man wearing a suit? Seems like a difficult subject.

The Lincoln in the Lincoln monument seems pretty good, but something about the suit makes me think about Saddam, Mussolini, Mao, etc. etc.

It just doesn't look right to me.

Why can't they go classical like the famous George Washington statue? I mean, it's obvious that they can't... but why?

Sculpting a suit... it's absurd.; 8/23/11, 1:04 PM
Scott M said...: Seems like a difficult subject.

I would think (as a layman never having sculpted any renowned masterpieces) that a toga would be more difficult. It seems like the suit is all angles and clean lines by comparison.; 8/23/11, 1:06 PM
Scott M said...: 5.8 MAG EARTHQUAKE ROCKS DC

Just what the hell is that MLK monument made of?; 8/23/11, 1:07 PM
Cedarford said...: Outsourced to China. To a sculptor who makes massive-sized Dead Leader Kim and Mao monuments. In the cold Soviet "social realism" style.
Result inevitable.

1. Hostile MLK, arms crossed.
2. Alien-looking King made of foreign stone, labor, and art - no American involved.
3. Fiasco. No amount of liberal spin...Love This Stature Or You Are a Racist!!!....will redeem this Chinese turkey.
4. King Family paid 800,000K for dispensation, plus franchising rights to smaller made in China statues and images to be sold later.; 8/23/11, 1:21 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Hostile MLK, arms crossed.

The pose does seem particularly odd. Did he ever strike that pose in life? I have never seen in image of him standing similarly.; 8/23/11, 1:25 PM
Scott M said...: Did he ever strike that pose in life?

It's supposed to be about the Dream speech, isn't it? I watched some of that video, but didn't see him crossing his arms.; 8/23/11, 1:26 PM
Saint Croix said...: By the content of our character.; 8/23/11, 2:27 PM
Eric said...: "Who is this Chinese guy?"; 8/23/11, 9:02 PM
Known Unknown said...: From an email story I wrote with a friend at college many years ago:

"Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard maintains the curious distinction of being the longest running road in the contiguous United States of America, bisecting every bad part of every major city in the country."; 8/23/11, 9:31 PM
Nichevo said...: Ann Althouse said...

"Nobody can sculpt human figures anymore."

Are there any good sculptures of a man wearing a suit? Seems like a difficult subject.

-----------

See J. Seward Johnson's Taxi! (1983)

http://www.forgottendelights.com/NYCsculpture/NYCSculptureIndex.htm

Others here too, some in suits or "classical" depending on what you accept. But having often seen Taxi!, I like it.

Oh, and the statue of MLK just confirms why the Cigarette Smoking Man had to kill him.; 8/24/11, 12:01 AM