This essay purposes to discuss Joes Lewis Fist, a public sculpture that lies at Jefferson Avenue at Woodward, Detroit, Michigan, in the US. Robert Graham, a Mexican-American sculptor, in dedication to Joes Lewis, did the artwork. The spectacular, famous sculpture was installed on October 16, 1986, and it invokes different emotions to Detroiters and visitors who come to Detroit to view it.
The sculpture represents a fisted hand of Joseph Louis Barrow, famously known as Joes Lewis, who was a black American professional boxer. Joe Lewis is ranked among the world’s best heavyweight champions having won twenty-six championship fights. He is regarded as an American national hero because he was the first African-American to win the US a world championship title when he defeated Max Schmeling in 1938 in a hotly contested fight. His sculpture was commissioned by Sports Illustrated magazine, an American media owned by Time Inc. at the cost of $350,000 at the time to commemorate of his 1938 historic triumph over Max, who was a German (Staes, 2015).
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The 24-foot long arm and approximately 8000-lbs sculpture is suspended horizontally on four steel poles. It has a bronze body and is shaped to make a pyramid structure (Staes, 2015). The arm is strong, muscular and has a fisted hand that implies the nature of Lewis' profession as a boxer. It is suspended approximately 24 feet above the intersection with its fist pointing the road while its rear part is facing tall buildings. It is firmly stretched and has a tight fist that stresses the fact that Lewis was a ruthless fighter. The arm is in black color, which implies that Lewis was a black American. It is positioned to face the South, the direction where Canada is situated; and aspect that has made many viewers to make different interpretations.
Joe Lewis Fist is a unique monument in Detroit City that caught the attention of my eyes at first sight. At first, I did not understand why an artist would spend such amount of resources to model the monument. The human arms length from the shoulders to the wrist is approximately two feet, but the monumental arm stretches twenty-four feet. I later came to appreciate how the hero was being celebrated and remembered. It is encouraging to observe how stakeholders can dedicate their time and resources in honor and remembrance of someone who contributed positively to the nation. The Fist is an outstanding figure in Detroit as it displays to the public how the City produced a strong man who made their country proud. The black color shows that excellence is independent of one's race, but hard work, determination, and focus among other virtues are some of the key drivers towards success. Nonetheless, criticism has been generated with claims that the fisted hand does not give the right impression of who Joe was. According to critics, he was a gentleman, philanthropic and an ordinary man, something that has not been captured in this statue (Lambertz, 2012).
In conclusion, Joe Lewis’ Fist artwork represents the heroic activities of Joe in a simplified way. The sculpture is modeled adequately with every part of the arm proportional to each other. It gives the observer an idea of what it stands for even before reading the message. It is also colored accordingly to reflect the racial background of the hero and the pyramidal shape of steel poles makes the support more artistic. Its large size makes it easy to notice, and the presence of a boxing glove on it sends a clear message to the viewers. Such honor and celebration through public artwork encourage other potential sportsmen and sportswomen to work hard to achieve excellence.
Joe Lewis Fist sculpture retrieved from http://www.dailydetroit.com/2015/07/10/the-real-story-behind-detroits-giant-joe-louis-fist/
References
Abbey-Lambertz, K. (2012). Detroit's Most Contentious Symbol . Retrieved 17 October 2017, from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/16/monument-to-joe-louis-fist-sculpture-25-years_n_1275709.html
Staes, J.A. (2015). The Real Story behind Detroit's Giant Joe Louis Fist . Retrieved 17 October 2017, from http://www.dailydetroit.com/2015/07/10/the-real-story-behind-detroits-giant-joe-louis-fist/
