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December 3, 2008 2:58:54 AM CST

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Panel Rips MLK Statue, Says He Looks Like a Dictator

Posted May 9, 08 1:00 PM CDT in US 

(Newser) – A federal arts panel is demanding changes to a colossal statue of Martin Luther King Jr. planned for the heart of Washington because commissioners think King looks too "confrontational," almost like a dictator, reports the Washington Post. The 28-foot-tall statue is to be the centerpiece of a 4-acre King memorial scheduled to be finished next year, but the panel has the clout to hold things up.

The statue was controversial to begin with when a Chinese sculptor known for his statues of Mao was picked instead of an American. The team behind the statue says its confrontational look isn't accidental. "We see him as a warrior for peace, not as some pacifist, placid, kind of vanilla, but a man of great conviction and strength," said a consultant involved in the project. They're trying to work out a compromise.

Source Washington Post

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Lei Yixin shows off a model of a new Martin Luther King Jr. statue at his studio in Changsha, central China's Hunan province, 23 March 2007   (Getty Images)
Lei Yixin puts the finishing touches on a model of a new Martin Luther King Jr. statue at his studio in Changsha, central China's Hunan province, 23 March 2007.   (Getty Images)
Assistants work on various projects at the studio of Chinese sculptor Lei Yixin.   (Getty Images)
A woman walks past the studio of Chinese sculptor Lei Yixin. A 28-foot tall statue of Martin Luther King Jr Yixin is working on is causing controversy in Washington.   (Getty Images)
In this undated photograph released by the MLK National Memorial Foundation, sculptor Master Lei Yixin of China looks at a scale model of the "Stone of Hope".   (AP Photo/MLK National Memorial Foundation)
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Washington DC • Martin Luther King Jr. • sculpture • statue • monument • National Mall


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