The Embrace facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Embrace |
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| Artist | Hank Willis Thomas |
| Year | 2023 |
| Medium | Bronze sculpture |
| Subject | |
| Dimensions | 6.7 m (22 ft); height |
| Weight | 400,000 pounds (180,000 kg) |
| Location | Boston Common, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| 42°21′18″N 71°03′52″W / 42.35494°N 71.06436°W | |
The Embrace is a bronze sculpture by Hank Willis Thomas, installed on Boston Common in Boston, Massachusetts, in December 2022. The artwork commemorates Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, and depicts four intertwined arms, representing the hug they shared after he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. The sculpture has received largely negative responses from critics and the public.
Description
The Embrace is a 20-foot tall (6.1 m) and 25-foot wide (7.6 m) bronze sculpture weighing 19 tons. It depicts four intertwined arms and hands, representing an embrace between Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. Details include buttons on the sleeves of his arms, and a bracelet on her wrist. The work was created by welding together nearly 609 smaller pieces.
The sculpture design is intended to emphasize the Kings' commitment to nonviolence and the importance of love as a motivating factor in their civil rights movement work.
The sculpture is situated within a circular plaza, the 1965 Freedom Plaza, which recognizes 69 individuals who were civil rights leaders in Boston from the 1950s through the 1970s. The plaza is located within the Boston Common, a public park in downtown Boston, and is situated in between the Boston Common Visitor's Center and the Boston Massacre Monument.
History
In 2017, the Boston Foundation and Embrace Boston (formerly King Boston), an organization dedicated to establishing a memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr., in Boston, put out a call for proposals for a public artwork in honor of King. Two years later, Hank Willis Thomas' design of The Embrace was selected from among 126 submissions. The work was created by Mass Design Group in Walla Walla, Washington, and was installed on the Boston Common in December 2022. It was formally dedicated on January 13, 2023, with dignitaries present, along with the Kings' son and one of their granddaughters.
See also
- Civil rights movement in popular culture
- List of public art in Boston
