PASSERS-BY had to look twice after a huge statue of Abraham Lincoln was decorated in 'bling'.
The giant statue of Lincoln on Brazennose Street, in Manchester, was erected in 1986 to commemorate the support workers of the city gave towards the abolition of slavery.
But it was given a makeover during the night and office workers were greeted with a more modern looking Lincoln. On Lincoln's head was a baseball cap while on the fingers of his hands gold rings spelled out the words 'true' and 'yank'.
A number of chains were hanging around his neck, one with the word 'union' in gold while another had a map of Africa attached to it. Mystery surrounds who has given the statue the makeover.
Sam Clough, who works at the sandwich shop Philpotts opposite the statue, said: "I'm not quite sure what it's supposed to say.
"It's supposed to be modern art. They've turned it into some kind of African gangster statue. I don't particularly like it. It looks very strange.
"Apparently they had a crane. I don't like it. It's insulting. I think it looks really daft."
An inscription at the base of the statue says it commemorates 'the support that the working people of Manchester gave in the fight for the abolition of slavery during the American civil war'.
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David, North M/C (31/03/2009 at 11:34)
David, North M/C (31/03/2009 at 11:59)
The stinking kipper, pinned under the table (31/03/2009 at 12:07)
Ace Shakespeare , manchester (31/03/2009 at 12:17)
citycentre, manchester (31/03/2009 at 12:39)
not really, there was an article about it in the metro this morning; it was done by a new york based artist, cant recall the name, and is connected to an exhibition of new york art to be shown in urbis
John Drake, Manchester (31/03/2009 at 14:24)
Mark,Radcliffe. (31/03/2009 at 14:43)
Esso Blue, , Manchester. (31/03/2009 at 14:49)
squirrelito (31/03/2009 at 15:00)
TheophilusW, South MCR (31/03/2009 at 15:03)
Adorning a statue of Lincoln in hip hop attire seems a way of passing comment on the crucial role he played in the history of the black communities in the USA, and how modern black culture has only been able to develop and assert itself thanks to the the actions of those many people like Lincoln who fought for more equality in that nation.
If the statue has been irrevocably altered, then maybe you would have a case for decrying vandalism, but I think that this piece of art might do a world of good in making people think more about the historical context of a hip hop culture that has spread around the globe like wildfire in the past couple of decades. Plus, if as citycentre says, this is part of an Urbis exhibition, presumably it has been done with the full consent of the Council, and with all appropriate measures taken to assure the statue is returned to its original state afterwards.
squirrelito (31/03/2009 at 15:46)
Hip Hop culture?
Judging by the arc that Hip Hop has taken over the last 30 years, are we also to assume that Mr Lincoln started out as charting social conscience and decrying the plight of the black man in America but over the years became more interested in perpetuating the stereotype of the violent, money-obsessed, misogynist homophobe?
Very uplifting
John Drake, Manchester (31/03/2009 at 15:57)
squirrelito (31/03/2009 at 16:13)
Where is the emancipation in the banal "Cristal & Ho" lyrics trotted out by these new icons of Young Black Americans?
John Drake, Manchester (31/03/2009 at 16:24)
d1v1s1onby0, Wigan (31/03/2009 at 18:52)
You cant adjust History to match up with todays values. It dilutes the efforts of the people who fought for equal rights by diluting histories view on why that fight was necessary .
Mr Mancunian, Sydney Australia (31/03/2009 at 23:49)
I remember in my childhood seeing old men with legs bent like bows & unable to walk normally. Rickets,Caused through undernourishment & living
in poverty, class & economic slaves. Often a damned sight worse off than the slaves on the plantations of the southern states of America.
The American civil war was about secession from the union. Slavery was an 'add on'. It is only recently that black people have begun to be treated anything like human beings in America. And that has been through the efforts of their own leaders.
The statue 'mocks' the working classes of Manchester. pull it down. There!!!
Hilda Barmcake, Manchester (01/04/2009 at 07:07)