Photo of the MLK monument in Washington DC

A $10 Million Dollar Mistake? The Internet Reacts to Statue Meant to Honor MLK

Melanie Allen
The Arts
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It was a nice thought. The city of Boston paid $10 million to construct a statue commemorating the iconic civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. 

The statue was unveiled on January 10th, and the response so far is…not great. It received mixed reviews from critics, but the internet had a field day with the confusing piece. 

Here are some of the top comments from around the internet concerning the odd work of art. 

It’s a Colon

“Here, hold my colon,” said one Redditor, referencing how the sculpture looks like giant hands holding a colon when viewed from a certain angle. 

Seriously What is Happening in this Statue?

“Depending on the angle it either looks like…someone hugging a giant semi-flaccid —–, or someone holding a colon. From no angles does it look like two people hugging.” Said one user. 

Another commented, “I am not joking; I had no idea the context of this statue and I thought it was a contortionist trying to fellatiate itself.”

Twitter user BeautfulSoul said the statue should come with a warning. 

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Is it…Poo?

Angles are everything in this piece. One user said it looked like giant hands holding up poop, but sort of saw the embrace from a different angle. “from another angle it is of arms embracing. Just looks like a giant turd from this angle apparently.” they said. 

What was the Artist Thinking?

You’d think an artist would consider how a work would appear from every viewing angle, but that doesn’t seem to be the case with this piece. 

“I’m amazed the artist didn’t seem to consider all possible angles of viewing of this GIANT sculpture. I’m embarrassed for the artist, town, and MLK family.” said one user. 

10 Million Dollars

Most of the internet was appalled by the 10 million dollar price tag. Twitter user Sabby Sabs said Boston should have invested the $10 million into the black community. 

 

Redditors said taxpayers should ask for receipts on how the money was really spent. 

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Not a Good Representation

Many users expressed outrage that the statue didn’t represent Martin Luther King properly. With a $10 million budget, the city could have made a full bust of the iconic leader. 

Twitter user Cranky Federalist asked why we couldn’t get a statue of MLK that was just a statue of MLK. 

 

It’s Racist

Lots of users on Twitter described the statue as racist. Many commented that the erasure of black heads and faces was intentional and disrespectful. 

 

Twitter user Michelle Efendi implied the new statue is just the latest in an overtly racist city. 

 

One Angle is Fine

If you look from one precise angle, the statue is okay. Some can see it as an “embrace.”

Twitter user Twofifthsinstitue shared a photo of the correct angle, saying the other angles don’t do it justice. 

 

Others disagreed. Verified user Abby Libby said there’s no angle from which the statue looks good. 

 

 The Statue is Awful

The internet rarely agrees on anything, but users on Reddit and Twitter agreed “The Embrace” is awful, confusing, and a horrible tribute to one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century. 

What do you think about the statue?

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