Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial | Boston Common | Downtown

If historical preservationists, Friends of the Common, etc have integrity and consistency they will loudly protest all of these proposals. None of them belong there, all are bloated, big foot interlopers. Not saying they are necessarily bad designs but the final choice should unquestionably be somewhere else. The Partisans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Partisans_(sculpture) will be watching the drama with great interest.
 
I like the Embrace and I think it would be awesome where it is proposed
 
There's a lot to like about The Embrace including that it's a bit uncomfortable and strange. From some angles it kind of looks like the Chicago bean got mishandled in shipping.

It belongs where the Bobby Orr statue is, anchoring the entrance to Boston via the Zakim Bridge. You'd drive in and see those bronze hands rising up... would be dramatic and a fitting place, paired with the work Leonard Zakim did.

The Bobby Orr statue can be moved into the new Hub Mall which will have a grand entrance to the TD Garden, hockey fans will love it.

The Common should just be the Common... it's worked as that.

The Greenway (technically begins at the Orr statue) needs stuff like this, or anything, on every parcel.
 
odurandina said:
Put this in Copley Square or City Hall Plaza.


btw, just like JFK, Martin Luther King would be labeled a right wing fascist today.

One of our nation's greatest hero's.... but a word of caution for the young folk; in addition to fighting for real equal rights in this country, he was wicked into right winger stuff like personal responsibility, free speech, civics and the Rule of Law....
He wasn't particularly keen on endless grandstanding, commie hissy fits and rioting everywhere.
and safe spaces? face palm; not exactly the kind of fascist Boston would welcome today.
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Can you please save your political rants for the Globe comment section where you usually post and try to keep politics from spilling over here.
 
So I get the MLK is probably one of the most important historical figures of the 20th century and quite possibly the most important in 20th century US History, but why does Boston need to build this monument at such a size and scale?

I may just be out of the loop with American History, but did MLK stage significant protests in Boston that I am unaware of? Is that why we're recognizing him with this monument? It's not like he doesn't already have a monument where it actually matters: DC. A lot of people are talking about tourists visiting the MLK monument in Boston... but why? I just don't understand how this fits in with the historical legacy of the city.
 
There are plenty of places on the Common that need some work or could do with some re-imagining, I don't think anyone would pick the space in between the State House and the Brewer Fountain though, that's literally the iconic Boston Common landscape. The Common isn't a blank canvas like the Greenway, it's the oldest city park in America and deserves a lot more care than people seem to be giving it.

The embrace and the walk of peace are decent pieces and I would appreciate either of them being included in Boston Common, and yeah an MLK memorial would be totally appropriate on the Common and not relegated to the Greenway. The Embrace has the most appropriate sense of place in the Common, being placed near the Bandstand which people use for political demonstrations (including that historical guy.... MLK).
 
These stink.
Cheapskate Ikea style memorials.
Give me the head of a Pharoah for King.
 
I really really hope none of these gets built on the Common. I hope they don't get built anywhere, but especially not on the Common.

But you know what would be great? I wish someone would commission a King memorial to stand in answer to that really condescending lincoln-frees-the-slave statue at park plaza.

493591c9-21e4-40cd-94d4-75ecb050c35f.jpg


Like - same scale and style, but with all the figures standing up ... MLK in the middle or whatever, regular citizen types on either side.. Put the new MLK statue and the old lincoln one in a single setting, like 50 feet from eachother, somewhere prominent. Maybe to the left and right of Robert Gould Shaw.

But please - please someone spare us this generic landscape sculpture bullshit.
 
The pieces by Ty Burr and Adrian Walker in today’s globe are the most anti-intellectual tripe I’ve seen in quite a while.
 
CSTH said:
I really really hope none of these gets built on the Common. I hope they don't get built anywhere, but especially not on the Common.

But you know what would be great? I wish someone would commission a King memorial to stand in answer to that really condescending lincoln-frees-the-slave statue at park plaza.

493591c9-21e4-40cd-94d4-75ecb050c35f.jpg


Like - same scale and style, but with all the figures standing up ... MLK in the middle or whatever, regular citizen types on either side.. Put the new MLK statue and the old lincoln one in a single setting, like 50 feet from eachother, somewhere prominent. Maybe to the left and right of Robert Gould Shaw.

But please - please someone spare us this generic landscape sculpture bullshit.
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I agree, the proposals could be better but you're just proposing generic portrait sculpture bullshit, the glass box office building of public art. At least lets try something different, something iconic, something that Boston could become known for, if that's a piece of art honoring MLK, great.
 
FK4 said:
The pieces by Ty Burr and Adrian Walker in today’s globe are the most anti-intellectual tripe I’ve seen in quite a while.
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I disagree, but I am curious why they had Ty Burr do the critique rather than Campbell.
 
I'd be happy for "Shoeshine Lincoln" to find a home with those relocated Confederate statues.
 
It should be given a place of honor in a locked closet in a subbasement of the MFA or the MHS.
 
Ruairi said:
I agree, the proposals could be better but you're just proposing generic portrait sculpture bullshit, the glass box office building of public art. At least lets try something different, something iconic, something that Boston could become known for, if that's a piece of art honoring MLK, great.
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Fair enough. I think its probably more like the 19th-century vernacular background building of public art, but whatever.

Essentially I think the very concept of a monumental public memorial to a prominent individual is basically bullshit from the start. And yes that includes even secular saints like MLK.

At least generic portrait sculpture bullshit is self-explanatory and has a small footprint.
 
CSTH said:
Essentially I think the very concept of a monumental public memorial to a prominent individual is basically bullshit from the start. And yes that includes even secular saints like MLK.
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I actually agree with this but I'm not going to draw the line as soon as folks like MLK start being recognized.

Maybe once more balance has been achieved (that will take a while) we can start that conversation.
 
CSTH said:
Fair enough. I think its probably more like the 19th-century vernacular background building of public art, but whatever.

Essentially I think the very concept of a monumental public memorial to a prominent individual is basically bullshit from the start. And yes that includes even secular saints like MLK.

At least generic portrait sculpture bullshit is self-explanatory and has a small footprint.
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That's fair enough but I would have though an abstract piece of art that isn't self-explanatory and has a small footprint would better meet your needs!?
 
The hands looked creepy at first but at second glance, I'm cool with the embrace!
 
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