I get into architecture. Every once in a while I'll just drift off into a daydream while looking at a car commercial, not because of the car but because of the gorgeous building behind it. One of the reasons 'The Cell' is one of my favorite films is because I often dream of being a zillionaire scientist with an extraordinarily architected headquarters.
On a more prosaic level, when I do get a chance to check out a building of historical note, I often do want to know who built it. For example, I took the tour of St. John the Divine in New York City and marveled about the work that has gone into it for generations. It turns out, that along with a lack of funding, one of the biggest problems in completing this, which will be the largest cathedral in America, is a lack of talent. To fulfill the architectural design and theme of the building, you need stonecutters in the tradition of the great Italians who pioneered the method used in many great buildings. There just aren't a lot of Italian stonecutters hanging around at the Home Depot parking lot. That doesn't change the fact that St. John the Divine is a magnificent structure. I put my dollar in the box. Some day.
I expect however that my geeky interest in the provenance of a building is of a different sort than that expressed recently:
Held in Dente Park in the shadow of the towering granite statue depicting an immigrant Italian stonecutter, Gilbert Young, the African-American artist from Atlanta who founded the "King Is Ours" movement, delivered his own "I Have a Dream" speech. Joining him was Chelsea native Clint Button, who honed his sculpting skills in Barre before moving to South Carolina and urged onlookers to "join us in the fight."
"As Americans we now have an opportunity to properly memorialize Dr. King in America, with American perspective in American granite," Button said. "Together we can strike the mighty stone. Together we will do what Dr. King did.
"I stand proudly with Gilbert Young to show all the world that, together, a black man and a white man can make a difference in America," he added. "Join us in the fight."
Young suggested that fight, which started in February when the M.L.K. foundation announced Lei Yixin, a sculptor from the People's Republic of China, had been selected to carve the centerpiece of the King memorial, was starting to take its toll. He claimed the foundation's fundraising efforts have, and will continue to be, hampered by the King Is Ours movement.
So perhaps you've heard about this sentiment. Now it has a movement. Well, it has a website that is calling itself a movement, and it has the voice of Gilbert Young. Rather shrill, I think.
If a monument to MLK gets built, all the controversy over its construction will be forgotten if and only it is beautiful. I've seen the King Center in Atlanta and it's a pathetic looking building. I've seen better looking train terminals. What matters most in the business of monument building is the integrity of the monument itself. Nobody cares who built the King Center because, in the end, it's not an appropriate monument.
Ultimately a monument is a symbol to a symbol. The artist disappears in good work and the person or thing represented emerges. Only somebody who completely doesn't understand that fundamental concept would protest against the designers and builders of a monument. There is either an aesthetic critique or there is not. Without an aesthetic critique, it's all about money and politics.
The politics of monument building are not far from us. I recall my open letter to the commission of a monument to be built at Ground Zero:
In the hero-making business political points have to be made. And guess what, the fire department itself wanted to make a political point about diversity by suggesting that instead of the three white men a mix of ethnicities should be cast on the statue. Should that come as a surprise? Furthermore this controversy has become a media event picked up by conservative and liberal magazines and editorials. What did you expect? That people would just give quiet and dignified support and understanding for some people who are just trying their best to do a good job? That was what you should have expected, but you asked for more.
The moment firefighters want graven images made of them, when they decide to become icons and idols of heroism, patriotism and all that's good and great about America, they subject themselves to a different level of criticism, and deservedly so.
Every American has, somewhere in their hearts, a soft spot for some image, some sound bite, some newspaper clipping they read, some video they saw, some story they heard. It's impossible at this late date not to. So when people insist on piling one more image, this time a controversial statue, into our hearts, is it any wonder that hearts turn hard?
Likewise, in our hearts, we all know what Dr. King's legacy means most to us, and we will all eventually, when the appropriate monument is built, reflect on those thoughts. These gripes and battles will long be forgotten and if they resonate at all, they will resonate in the narrow context of petty people who wanted their politics to be compared alongside Dr. King's. Fat chance, loser.
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