Living the Dream, (sculpture).

Living the Dream, (sculpture).

Brown, Frank J., sculptor.

Forbes, Derek A., designer.

Allied Diversified Masonry Industries, fabricator.

Perry Masonry, fabricator.

Unknown (Paoli, Wisconsin), founder.

Living the Dream, (sculpture).

Copyrighted 1991. Dec. 16, 1991-Feb. 15, 1993. Dedicated Feb. 15, 1993.

Digital Reference:

Portrait relief: bronze; Mural reliefs: stoneware; Base: Indiana limestone.

Overall: approx. 9 x 8 x 6 ft. (700 lbs.)

A waist-length, high relief portrait, in bronze, of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wearing a heavy robe. His hands and his forearms project from the relief. He holds both hands out, with palms up and fingers curled back slightly, as if gesturing during a speech. His head is bowed. On each side of the portrait relief are three bas-relief mural plaques made of stoneware. The three scenes depicted on the left murals are, from top to bottom: the March on Washington; Dr. King receiving the Nobel Peace Prize; and the incarceration of Dr. King in 1965. The three scenes depicted on the right murals are, from top to bottom: the March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama; the signing of the Civil Rights Amendment; and the King family after the assassination. The bronze relief is mounted to the upper front of a three-paneled base. The six stoneware murals are mounted on the two angled, flanking panels to each side of the bronze relief. The base is capped by a roof-like cornice that partially shelters the reliefs.

Portrait male -- King, Martin Luther, Jr. -- Waist length

Occupation -- Other -- Reformer

Occupation -- Religion -- Clergy

Occupation -- Political

Ethnic -- African American

History -- United States -- Black History

History -- United States -- Civil Rights Movement

State of Being -- Other -- Imprisonment

State of Being -- Emotion -- Sorrow

Outdoor Sculpture -- Wisconsin -- Madison

City of Madison, Madison CitiArts, 215 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Madison, Wisconsin 53701

The artist considers the relief scenes on the left side of the base to be positive events in Dr. King's life and the scenes on the right side to be negative. Derek A. Forbes of Allied Diversified Masonry Industries of Madison, designed the monument. Allied Diversified Masonry Industries and Perry Masonry constructed the base. The sculpture was cast in ten separate pieces in Paoli, Wisconsin and welded together. The sculpture is administered by Madison CitiArts, formerly called the Madison Committee for the Arts. For related information see the Wisconsin State Journal (Madison), Feb. 2, 1992, Dec. 8, 1992, Feb. 12, 1993; Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin), Dec. 10, 1992; and The Daily Cardinal, Feb. 3, 1992, Nov. 9, 1992, and Feb. 16, 1993.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Wisconsin survey, 1993.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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