Crowd Honors King With Aerial Art
Hundreds Gather In Tom Lee Park To Form Image Of Civil Rights Icon
Organizers were hoping at least 1,000 people would gather in Tom Lee Park Sunday to form a huge image of Martin Luther King Jr.
They got perhaps a third of that, and resigned to fill in the remainder with hundreds of opened umbrellas.
A. Withers - J. Pantukhoff/Special To The Commercial Appeal
Participants lying in the grass at Tom Lee Park couldn't see the image they created.
Mike Brown/The Commercial Appeal
The man with the plan John Quigley, artist and producer from Los Angeles for Circle Up Now, directs people to lie down in Tom Lee Park Sunday as part of Amnesty International's tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. and others in the struggle for human rights. Quigley estimated he spent about 10 hours setting up and marking the likeness of King to fill in with people, creating the image and message seen from above. story, B6
Still, they mostly managed to pull off a massive image of King, looking pensive with his chin resting on his hand, along with the words "Keep the Dream Alive." Helicopters flew overhead to record the "aerial art," as it's called.
The point of the display was to honor King and others in the struggle for human rights, said Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International USA, who was here for the Southern region of his group's three-day conference.
"We're trying to find new and innovative ways to make people aware, and aerial art is one of the ways," said Cox, whose group sponsored the event, along with local organizations. "It's a way to bring people together and let them use their bodies, in a sense, to take part."
Those who came to the park did so for various reasons.
"I love the idea and thought it was very creative, bringing Memphis together in a small way," said Susan Erdman, 61 and a Midtowner.
Madeline Brinkley, a 17-year-old art student from Germantown High, came with nine of her classmates to take part.
"We came in because we wanted to support this art. We're all in art class," she said, while sketching on a pad. "Being a part of this piece will make you identify more with your roots (being) from Memphis."
Then there were John Skaggs and his son, Kyle, who came from Midtown. They appreciated the project's cause, but they also found it hard to resist being outside on a perfect fall afternoon.
"We thought it'd be pretty cool to come down," John Skaggs said. "We came out here to throw the Frisbee around, meet some cool people."
-- Jody Callahan: 901-529-6531
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