"The Embrace" is an enormous sculpture in Boston, unveiled two days ago in anticipation of MLK Jr.'s birthday today. It depicts a famously-photographed embrace between him and wife Coretta Scott King—just their arms, that is, looming over Boston Common.
The art piece, designed by Brooklyn-based conceptual artist Hank Willis Thomas, only features the couple's arms during the embrace and not their heads, which has sparked criticism and mockery online. Some people described it as hideous or disrespectful while others posted memes and said it resembled a sex act.
The funniest reaction is a cousin of Coretta Scott King ranting about the "woke left" and calling it a "a pair of hands hugging a beefy penis."
MLK Jr's family is defending it, though: "Yeah, it didn't have my mom and dad's images but it represents something that brings people together. And in this day and age, when there's so much division, we need symbols that talk about bringing us together."
Here is what I suppose is the intended angle:
And here is the angle of dangle:
Here's the unveiling:
