Chinese sculptor Lei Yixin and architect Ed Jackson Jr. are helping Martin Luther King Jr.’s ideas take shape. Literally. This Sunday, August 28th, the 30ft statue of King and the surrounding grounds (including a bookstore, cherry trees, and a wall of King’s quotes) will be dedicated in a ceremony marking the 48th anniversary of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.  The New York Times describes the statue: “The design gave form to a line from Dr. King’s “Dream” speech — “With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope,” said Mr. Jackson. In the memorial, he noted, Dr. King is seen emerging from the stone of hope. The two towering mounds set slightly behind him, forming a sort of passageway to the statue, are mountains of despair.” Read the entire article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/23/us/23mlk.html?_r=1&ref=arts
Christina Shurts, Picadilly Too, 2010 52 x 70 o/c “Appropriated architectural structures combine with  memory and transform into fiction. Consistantly the structures have the source of being of a site people escape to. The use of color triggers an emotional read that connects the viewer’s memory of place. Contained within the layered architectural  constructions, the reference to superstructure unfolds. It’s dual meaning pulled apart as a physical built amalgam and conversly a sociological heirarchy in culture propelles this current series.Varied layers refernece time and building up to a desired ediface while weight and balance in the images reference a looming instability. A strange humor is evident through awckward forms and “off” color palette, this may add a reprieve from the serious nature of the subject matter.” http://www.tinashurts.com/701.html
Theme for the Venice architecture biennale announced today! http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/house-and-home/theme-for-venice-architecture-biennale-announced-1882828.html