It doesn’t matter where I am these days. Every conversation leads to China. Here’s a story that was brought to my attention by a colleague in New York, who is outraged by the fact that the new memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. is being carved in China, with Chinese granite. As a rule I’m not as against outsourcing as many people, but in this case I immediately agreed. Here’s the article that comes out No. 1 at Google via Digg (the first time I’ve landed at Digg so quickly): “King sculptor meets stony resistance.” There’s the economic argument, but what really matters here, I think, is the symbolic importance of this memorial. The Chinese understand this, probably better than we do, and perhaps in the spirit of Feng Shui would also believe this statue should be made of the right material, and sited in a harmonious way.

But here’s Chinese coverage last summer, “Chinese Artist to Sculpt Statue of Martin Luther King.”

A Chinese sculptor from central China’s Hunan Province has been chosen to sculpt a stone statue of Martin Luther King, which will be unveiled in the Martin Luther King Square in Washington in 2008.

Lei Yixin, the 53-year-old director of the Hunan Sculpture Institute, received the contract from the Sculpture Committee of the Martin Luther Square (SCMLS) on Sunday, as well as video, photographs and reading materials of the American hero. “This is a recognition of Chinese sculptors,” said the excited Lei, who has worked in sculpting for over 20 years.

The SCMLS approached Lei in July after he had made a 2.3-meter-tall sculpture at the International Stone Sculpture Conference.

Amazing it took so long for the story to pick up steam here.
Lei has won several prizes in China and his works are on display in Changsha Square.

(Xinhua News Agency August 16, 2006)