Home > Window on Washington > Archives > 2008 > June > 18 > Entry
MLK Memorial planners skipped review as statue grew
The controversial statue planned for the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial grew into a full-scaled 28-foot model without winning the “normal” interim approvals, said Thomas Luebke, secretary of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts.
The federal panel, which must approve any memorial before it is built on the National Mall, was set to take its first comprehensive look at the sculpture design Thursday. Luebke said project sponsors usually seek “periodic review” for statues, starting with table-top sized models and gradually going to full size.
In this case, the private foundation planning the memorial hired a Chinese sculptor who has already produced a full-scale model. The Fine Arts commission and critics have called the statue too “static” and too “confrontational.” Officials of the foundation have since announced some modifications, which are scheduled to be presented at Thursday’s meeting.
Comments
By Lea Winfrey-Young
June 18, 2008 4:37 PM | Link to this
How is it that an organization using $10 million in Federal monies can get away with building a full-scale model for OUR National Mall without participating in the review process? Where is the oversight? What’s even more interesting is the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the King Memorial Project Foundation are in the same office building. Seems like someone from the Commission would have knocked on the MLKF door sometime during the past two years since Yixin was brought on board and asked, “So how’s it goin’….”