A statue of former US President Barack Obama holding his daughter Sasha’s hand has been created as a part of Rapid City, South Dakota’s “City of Presidents” project.
What We Know:
- The statue is inspired by the Obamas’ walk on stage at Chicago’s Grant Park after he first won the presidency.
- This project has so far created 43 life-size bronze statues of past presidents since 2000. It includes leaders such as George Washington, Bill Clinton, and now Obama.”
- The “City of Presidents” tour includes a map as well as an interactive walking guide. The placement of the statues was made in order to “maintain a coherent structure and eliminate any sense of favoritism or political gain,” the city stated.
- Each statue is created in a pose to showcase the personalities behind each of the presidents. They are also privately funded. James Van Nuys created the Obama statue.
- It took the sculptor two years to create. The work of art was originally going to be something completely different. It was originally only supposed to take nine months to create, and it would feature Obama standing and waving. However, collaborators found this option to be more boring.
- “One of us said, ‘This is boring. This is not going to have the wow factor,’ ” Dallerie Davis, the group’s co-founder, told CNN. “A man waving is not a showstopper.”
- The official placement of the statue will be chosen by the end of the summer.
This is something to definitely check out!
