Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Historical - Memorials/Tributes - Outdoor Sculpture

 507 N Rose St., Kalamazoo , MI, 49007

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Installed in 1989
Location: Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park

About the Artist:  Coming from a family of peace and social activists, Reinertson’s work has an underlying humanism that can be seen both in her poetic ceramic figures with animals, to her more historic public commissions that express ideals of peace and social justice. Her work combines a realism rooted in figurative art traditions, with a contemporary expression of social and psychological content.
Reinertson completed her MFA at UC Davis in 1984, studying with Robert Arneson, and Manuel Neri. She has taught at several universities and colleges in Northern California including CSU Chico, Santa Clara University and UC Berkeley. Her ceramic work has been in exhibitions and museums nationally and internationally, and is in several public and private collections including the Crocker Art Museum, the ASU Art Museum and the Mint Museum. Reinertson has completed over 20 public commissions in bronze.
About the Sculpture:  The base of the statue is inscribed with the following quotes from Martin Luther King Jr:

• "True peace is not merely the absence of tension: It is the presence of justice."

• "Every man must decide if he will walk in the light of creative altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness. This is the judgement. Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others’?

• "Non-violence is a powerful and just weapon. It is a weapon unique in history which cuts without wounding, and enables the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals."

Information retrieved from the artist’s personal website http://lisareinertson.com/content_set.html

Photo by Patrick Jouppi, 2011

Location Info

507 N Rose St.

507 N Rose St., Kalamazoo , MI, 49007