Tuesday, December 10, 2013

A Striking Mandela Memorial

While there will no doubt be many memorials, statues, paintings, and art installations honoring nelson Mandela, this one — which I just stumbled upon yesterday — was constructed in 2012 on the Fiftieth Anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s arrest in 1962.

This steel sculpture was erected on the exact spot where Mandela was arrested in the village of Howick. It looks deceptively simple, with fifty steel rods that symbolize the bars behind which he was held. But you just need move around it to find out what it really is meant to be.

South African artist Marco Cianfanelli’s sculpture  of Mandela’s profile spans 50 steel columns measuring between 21 and 29 feet tall, each one anchored to the concrete-covered ground. The shape and form of the sculpture represent Mandela’s 27 years behind bars for his efforts to bring equal rights and governmental representation to South Africa.

‘It represents the momentum gained in the struggle [since] Mandela’s capture. The 50 columns represent the 50 years since his capture, but they also suggest the idea of many making the whole; of solidarity. it points to an irony as the political act of Mandela’s incarceration cemented his status as an icon of struggle, which helped ferment the groundswell of resistance, solidarity and uprising, bringing about political change and democracy.'Marco Cianfanelli

click to emBIGGERate


7 comments:

  1. WOW! cool sculpture; thanks for sharing this!

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  2. Anonymous10:11 AM

    Now THAT is a monument!

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  3. WOW! That is very amazing. Can you just imagine the thought and time spent to get that right. This will no doubt be the most amazing memorial.

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  4. That is an amazing sculpture!

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  5. In your email post of "Money Can't Buy Happiness...." yesterday, about the fiasco in Texas, you mis-identified Judge Jean Boyd. The picture you show as being Boyd is, in fact, that of Rosemary Lehmberg, the District Attorney of Travis County, Austin, TX.
    For the past 8 months, Rosemary has been the victim of a political power play. Our governor, Dick Perry, wants her thrown out of office because she does things right and is (gasp!) a DEMOCRAT recently re-elected to her second term. Dick, by law, would be allowed to appoint a Repuglican to the position should he succeed. His ruse is based on the fact that Rosemary was arrested for D.W.I way back when and, since she would not resign, Dick witheld STATE FUNDS from her office as a power play. As far as the arrest, Rosemary immediately pled guilty and entered a recovery program,and her counselor from program testified that there was NO REASON why Rosemary could not continue in her position as District Attorney.
    Well, the puppet attorney who filed the civil suit against Rosemary went home sad yesterday. After 3 days of testimony, the visiting judge (from San Antonio)ruled in Rosemary's favor and ended this travesty of justice.
    And now...you identify her, an out lesbian by the way (almost as shocking a win factor as being a Democrat; we ARE in Texas you remember), as the Joke Judge who (mis)handled the Ethan Couch case.
    WOW! The SAME day Rosemary wins her case, I Should Be Laughing (who apparently does not check its sources)once again puts her in a horribly negative light.
    Since I believe that everyone deserves a second chance, please issue a retraction and an apology to Rosemary Lehmberg; she deserves so much more than your treatment of her yesterday.

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  6. @Unknown
    Thanks for informing me of the gaffe.

    When I searched for a photo of Boyd, the first four that came up were the ones I used, ALL OF THEM IDENTIFIED on the websites, news sites, and blogs as being Judge Boyd.

    Forgive me. PLEASE!!!!!

    I do not owe anyone an apology for an honest mistake so climb down off your high horse.

    Oh, and thanks for posting your comment on my post "Money Can't Buy Happiness...." on a completely DIFFERENT post about Nelson Mandela.

    Maybe you should apologize to ME for your gaffe?

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