One month, one sculpture : « The Embrace », a striking MLK’s memorial to capture the feeling of Love

Located in the oldest public park in the US, The Embrace is a 20-foot-tall monument in Boston by artist Hank Willis Thomas, two sets of bronze arms forever locked in a hug, representing Coretta Scott King and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., captured during an intimate moment in 1964 when Dr. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
H.W. Thomas designed that sculputre to honor the Kings’ time spent in and impact on Boston, the city where they met, fell in love, and helped to launch the Civil Rights Movement.
The monumental sculpture was unveiled last year in January 2023.

“There are layers to its meaning for peace,” says Jonathan Evans, lead architect for the city project, and there are also layers to the overall design. “Working together to ground the piece with an architectural plaza and the stories within it, it’s not just a monument to a man and a woman, but a monument that tries to make you feel, tries to inspire you to take action and be a participant in making the world better.”

Embrace Boston executive director Imari Jeffries concurs: “Monuments, memorials, and artwork have the ability to transform cities. We wanted a monument that would connect Boston’s residents through the lens of racial equity.”

 

Source : freely adapted from https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/striking-new-martin-luther-king-jr-memorial-captures-feeling-of-love
(ESL teaching : For educational purposes only)