COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)–A special commemoration this Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a sculpture unveiling for all to see in downtown Columbus.
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“They all have gaps in between and when you walk around it’s, it’s one angle where you sort of look into the people’s eyes where they seem to disappear, disintegrates because you see all the space behind it basically,” said artist Julian Voss-Andreae.
The sculpture was created by Voss-Andreae and his wife Adrianna. You can find the artwork sitting in Washington Gladden Social Justice Park.
“To give us a message that what we need to do in Columbus and we are boundless in this garment that we’ve got to share with one another to make this world better. What we found in 2020, 2021 can be better,” said Reverend Joel King Jr., Martin Luther King Jr.’s first cousin.
The inspiration came from King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” in which he wrote, “Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
“From a purely artistic standpoint it is truly a marvel I think it’s a wonderful visual play and you can enjoy it no matter what even if you don’t know what it’s about,” said Dr. Melanie Corn. She helped bring the piece here. The project took nearly two years.
“You add a global pandemic into the middle of it and it’s taken longer than we thought and so it is even more special to be here today to see this unveiled especially on Martin Luther King Jr day,” she said.
King said now is an important time to unveil the piece.
“The urgency is now to say something if you see something the urgency is now that we got to be part of the destiny, we’re still tied up in. What affects one affects us all and we gotta know that and realize that what we say in Washington this past week that’s our government, not your government they government it’s ours it’s the United States of America.”
“Honor the legacy of all of the communities who’ve in the past have fought for social justice and those who are fighting for it now, it’s never been a more timely message,” said Adrianna.
King Jr. talked about the protests at the Capitol saying the idea of togetherness is key.
“We need to revamp ourselves on this holiday and regroup again as Americans and let us move on to make this country what it ought to be what king was trying to tell us all the time 50 some odd years ago.”