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By Krishna Arul
Banner photo edited by Krishna Arul: Jean Moulin and MLK Jr., with the USA and French flags side by side
I’ve passed the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta a few times and observed a statue of MLK Jr. in the middle of a street. I knew a lot about who he was and what he did for our society today, but it seemed a little strange to have a statue of him in such an ordinary location. The first time I walked into Gare de Metz and looked up to see four elevated statues, with one painted and seemingly isolated from the rest, I was intrigued. I had no idea who Moulin was or his importance. Once I researched who he was, I realized how important he was, but also how casual a spot his statue is placed in, similar to the MLK Jr. statue. I wondered, “Why would these two highly important men be placed where no one really stops?”
"These reminders of nationhood hardly register in the flow of daily attention, as citizens rush past on their daily business."
"These reminders of nationhood hardly register in the flow of daily attention, as citizens rush past on their daily business."
- social psychologist Michael Billig, Banal Nationalism (1995)
Thousands of people rush through the main lobby of Gare de Metz, passing a statue of Jean Moulin as they travel or go on their daily commutes. Thousands of fans drive to Falcons games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, passing by a statue of MLK Jr. Both men died resisting oppression, and both now stand where nobody stops.
Billig’s point is that a reminder people ignore still does its job. These statues tell people every day to fight oppression and carry the memories of the leaders who they commemorate. Stephan Balkenhol’s 2014 statue of Jean Moulin, a German artist’s tribute in the very station where the leader was declared dead, and Basil Watson’s 2021 Hope Moving Forward statue of Martin Luther King Jr., both bring men who fought oppression into everyday traffic. In doing so, they both make each hero feel more human, but change what can be dangerous struggles into calm symbols that people unknowingly interact with every day.
Balkenhol’s most important choice in his statue is to make Moulin an ordinary person. Moulin, leader of the French National Resistance Council, was arrested by the Gestapo near Lyon, tortured by Klaus Barbie, and officially declared dead at Metz station on the 8th of July, 1943, while being transported to Germany. Since his ashes were placed in the Pantheon in 1964, Moulin has been a national symbol of the Resistance, one that is usually placed on a pedestal.
Jean Moulin and 3 unpainted passers-by
(Le Républicain Lorrain)
The statue that the City of Metz commissioned is only about 2.70 meters tall, and “by limiting the installation’s height, he avoids the distance commonly attributed to heroes, perceived as untouchable” (France 3 Lorraine). Moulin also wears a plain suit instead of a uniform. Three unpainted bronze passers-by stand near him, which the Ministry of Culture says represent both an anonymous crowd “with which people can identify” and Moulin’s “army of shadows” of the Resistance.
Because of their proximity and equal scale, Moulin and the three figures look like equals, rather than a leader and his followers. This is important because the real Resistance movement depended on thousands of anonymous civilians who hid fugitives, delivered messages, and risked their lives, without ever becoming famous. By putting Moulin on the same level as them, Balkenhol is saying that resistance is something ordinary people did as well.
"Nations forget the violence which brought them into existence."
"Nations forget the violence which brought them into existence."
(Billig 38)
Choosing a German sculptor creates a message of France-German friendship. franceinfo calls the work “symbolic due to the nationality of its creator.” At the very same ceremony that unveiled the statue, Balkenhol was also made a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters. Billig writes that the “opening of new national monuments” comes with officials and “these occasions are rarely described as displays of nationalism” (49). A French minister honoring a German artist at the site of a Nazi crime was a carefully planned message. The setting of Metz adds to this, because the train station was built by Germany in 1908 when Metz was annexed by Germany from 1871 to 1918. This creates a hopeful message where two nations that had fought many wars against each other can now honor the same man together. However, this lessens the crime. A monument representing friendship makes travellers remember Moulin, but simultaneously forget about the torture that killed him.
Replica of the Dove of Peace, United Nations
Moulin’s statue brings a hero down to an ordinary scale, but King’s statue makes him larger than life. The dove that King is releasing from his right hand in the statue Hope Moving Forward presents his legacy as peace that is still being passed forward. The Jamaican sculptor Basil Watson designed the statue for the City of Atlanta’s MLK Innovation Corridor Project. The dove is one of the most widely understood symbols. The United Nations’ description of Replica of Dove of Peace, a mosaic gifted to them by the Holy See, says that the dove “has been accepted in many religions and places as a one of love and peace” and calls it “the pre-eminent symbol of peace.”
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
- MLK Jr., Strength to Love (1963)
These quotes are inscribed on the base's left and right sides of Hope Moving Forward
The movement of the dove on the mosaic from dark clouds to a bright horizon is similar to the message of Watson’s monument and directly correlates to MLK Jr’s words that are engraved on the side of the statue’s base. The inscribed lines about darkness and light connect to the movement of the dove on the mosaic, showing the statue’s message of peace. Since King is releasing the dove rather than simply holding it, the message of peace is still on-going and King’s work must be carried on into the future by the people who see this monument.
While the King statue shows an important message, its placement is just as significant. Hope Moving Forward stands in the middle of the road at Northside Drive and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, just outside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. First of seven artworks planned for the MLK Innovation Corridor project, the city described it as a tribute to “Dr. King’s walk toward peace and equality for all people.” The timing of when it was built is important too. This statue was unveiled in January 2021, just months after the 2020 protests regarding George Floyd’s murder, and when many cities were taking down Confederate monuments. The opportunity was taken to put up a new statue of a hero in a public space, and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms called the statue “a fitting and timely tribute to Atlanta’s son, Dr. King.”
Hope Moving Forward
(Wikimedia Commons)
The spot itself is still ordinary. Drivers cruise right by, and fans walk past it on game day to the stadium. This is exactly what Billig meant by reminders that “hardly register.” The statue subconsciously reminds people of King. The statue thus renders King as a calm figure, while in reality he marched, was jailed, and even killed for his fight against oppressors.
Both statues I’ve talked about use very different scales. Moulin is much closer to a human scale, while King is twelve feet tall on top of a six foot base, giving him an 18 foot height over anyone walking by. Both of them are elevated, but the effect is much greater on King’s statue, due to its already great height. The Moulin statue becomes much more ordinary while King is monumental. This difference changes how people relate to each man. People in Metz can see Moulin as someone like themselves, while people in Atlanta look up to King, just someone to admire.
Either way, both statues do something good. They take heroes who could seem unreachable and put them where ordinary people go about their lives. They also make it easy to forget how dangerous those lives truly were. Small changes could fix these problems, like adding a plaque about Moulin’s death or about the struggles King fought through. Until then, next time you take a train at Gare de Metz, or drive to a Falcons game, look up. Billig showed that everyday symbols such as statues shape how we see our heroes precisely because we stop noticing them. Taking a moment to really look at statues like Moulin and King is the first step to remembering their true fight against oppression.
Sources:
Sources:
Billig, Michael. “Banal Nationalism.” 1995. https://takku.net/mediagallery/mediaobjects/orig/5/5_billig-banal_nationalism.pdf
France 3 Lorraine. “Gare de Metz : une sculpture allemande en hommage à Jean Moulin.” 2014. https://france3-regions.franceinfo.fr/grand-est/2014/07/10/gare-de-metz-une-sculpture-allemande-en-hommage-jean-moulin-515253.html
franceinfo Culture. “L’Allemand Stephan Balkenhol a sculpté Jean Moulin pour la gare de Metz.” 2014. https://www.franceinfo.fr/culture/arts-expos/sculpture/l-allemand-stephan-balkenhol-a-sculpte-jean-moulin-pour-la-gare-de-metz_3363851.html
Hérodote.net. “Jean Moulin (1899-1943): Une icône de la Résistance.” n.d. https://www.herodote.net/Une_icone_de_la_Resistance-synthese-1842-4.php
King, Martin Luther, Jr. “Strength to Love.” 1963.
Ministère de la Culture. “Commande publique de Stephan Balkenhol : Hommage à Jean Moulin.” 2014. https://www.culture.gouv.fr/fr/thematiques/arts-plastiques/espace-presse/communiques-de-presse-arts-plastiques/Commande-publique-de-Stephan-Balkenhol-Hommage-a-Jean-Moulin
Overdeep, Meghan. “Atlanta Installs New Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Monument.” 2021. https://sg.news.yahoo.com/atlanta-installs-dr-martin-luther-173150055.html
United Nations. “Replica of Dove of Peace.” n.d. https://www.un.org/ungifts/replica-dove-peace
Walker, Karyl. “Hope Moving Forward: Basil Watson’s MLK Statue Unveiled in Atlanta.” 2021. https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20210117/hope-moving-forward-basil-watsons-mlk-statue-unveiled-atlanta
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