Instead of wiping away yet another relic of the Confederacy, a new MoveOn.org petition wants to add Atlanta rappers Andre 3000 and Big Boi of Outkast to the famous Stone Mountain carving in northern Georgia.
Mack Williams, a Brooklyn-based graphic designer who hails from Blackshear, Georgia, started the petition in the hopes of improving upon the popular tourist attraction at Stone Mountain park. Such would be a better and more productive alternative, he opines, than simply trying to efface the monument, which features the rocky likenesses of Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis.
As Williams writes at MoveOn.org:
By no means do we wish to erase or destroy the current carving, which, regardless of its context, is an impressive and historic work of art. We simply wish to add new carvings, of Atlanta hip-hop duo Outkast, to the mountainside. There’s plenty of room.
I believe that Daddy Fat Sacks and Three Stacks should be carved riding in a Cadillac (as is their wont). This will help the new carving blend nicely with the Confederates who are on horseback.
Outkast are two of the greatest Georgians in the history of our state. It’s about time the Empire State of the South paid proper tribute to them, while also improving a great monument and tourist attraction.
As of this writing, the petition has nearly 8,000 of the 10,000 signatures needed for MoveOn.org to submit it to Georgia’s State House, State Senate and Gov. Nathan Deal. Yet even if the petition gets the required signatures, the former art director of Archer on FX knows all too well that Outkast’s Cadillac likely won’t appear on Stone Mountain.
Williams told CNN that the carvings were “technically and architecturally amazing” and “an engineering achievement,” but notes:
“It’s for the Confederacy, which in my opinion, is a horrible thing. I don’t think a work of art needs to be judged on its intent….I also don’t think we should erase that and pretend it didn’t happen or pretend it wasn’t there.”
Even so, Outkast member Big Boi seems to like the idea — enough to endorse it with a retweet:
👍RT @ajc: How ‘bout it @bigboi? Two dope boys in a Cadillac — on the side of Stone Mountain? http://t.co/seiEZGsZcs pic.twitter.com/G8srJkbu5S
— Big Boi (@BigBoi) July 15, 2015
[h/t CNN]
[Mountain rendering art via Mack Williams]
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