Joe Louis 2, photo by buckshot.jones.
Scott writes I simply love this piece of art work. It says so much about the heart and soul, the toughness, about the town and the people who live here and have built this area. Joe Louis Barrow, aka “The Brown Bomber” is one of the all-time great boxers. The 24 x 24 x 11.5 feet Monument to Joe Louis was commissioned by Time Inc. for the City of Detroit to honor Joe Louis. It was created by sculptor Robert Graham and installed at Jefferson Avenue at Woodward, Detroit on October 16, 1986.
Robert Graham’s page on the Joe Louis Memorial says:
The monument is a 24-foot long arm and fist held in balanced suspension from a pyramidal support of bronze poles. Weighing approximately 8,000 lb., it rises 24 feet above a major downtown intersection.
The initial arm was modeled in clay at 14 inches in length. With the aid of a computer, a full-scale steel armature, 24 feet in length, was made and wrapped with wire and covered with clay. The final clay model was divided into eight sections and cast in bronze, then assembled. The pyramid structure was fabricated out of steel, and faced with bronze plates. A tribute to Joe Louis is inscribed on the arm.
Detroit Yes writes in Downtown Montage that he may be the only person in Detroit (other than Scott) who likes the Fist:
So great was Joe Louis that is difficult to measure the historical contribution of this immense figure who, without a close second, is by far the greatest sports figure to ever arise from Detroit and assume center stage on the world theater. It was he who helped shatter the Nazi myth of racial superiority with his dramatic defeat of German champion Max Schmeling during the rise of Nazism. In doing so and then serving his country nobly in the segregated army of World War II, he laid bare the disgraceful hypocrisy that denied Afro American athletes access to the major leagues of American sport, not to mention all Afro Americans who were and are denied the basic birthrights of American citizenship.
He did this with his fists and determination. So it is fitting that he is honored with a place at the center of his hometown with an artwork as powerful and controversial as he was.
You can get a birds eye view of the Joe Louis Memorial on the Absolute Michigan map of Michigan. Also see Monuments of Detroit from the Detroit News, a slideshow of photos of the Fist and a video look at the Joe Louis Fist Statue. For more about Joe Louis, Wikipedia’s Joe Louis entry and the Official site of the Joe Louis Estate.
Michigan in Pictures 
This is a gorgeous photo. I love the perspective. I just added a link to this in my blog: http://thedetroitvampirechronicles.com/
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How proud I am to have been born and raised in Mi, I want to thank the sculpture for paying tribute to a man I had the opportunity to witness his training with my father in the 40’s, Joe Louis, My god Bless
this man for showing the world what a true man can accompolish inspight of the racial tone in which he
lived in..I’m tired of people putting Mich and Detroit down this city and state is just as prosperous as New york ,Chicago,Philly Callifornia Flordia, Ohio or Ga.I’m proud of Detroit and Michigan I will always be positive about my Hometown an look forward to returning and enjoying all it has to offer, if people, can’t make Mich. better,then leave, go somewhere, where you will be happy and remember, the only perfect place is Heaven…
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That is probably one of my favorite things to take pictures of when I’m in Detroit.
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I wondered what this was in the car ad, and this is not one of the possible ideas that went through my mind. Having seem so many union people raising their fists in protest lately, with a star of socialism on the fist in the signs, I thought it was a monument to union thuggery. You know, the standard “workers of the world, unite” or “get out in the street and get a little bloody” kind of mob rule mentality one might expect of a union city destroyed by union greed that priced them out of their jobs leaving Detroit devastated yet defiant. I’m glad to see it memorializes something of focused forcable achievement through sports, not forced union obedience. I doubt the effectiveness of the incusion of this ad to anyone outside of Detroit who doesn’t know the context of this sculpture and I think it gives a very negative impression without context. That said, knowing what it is supposed to be, I like the sculpture.
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シルバーアクセサリーのお手入れ方法
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I am writing an article for publication and would like to inquire how I might add this amazing image of the fist.
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Hello Emma, you would need to head over to Flickr and talk to the photographer about use of the photo. Here’s the link:
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I’m impressed, I must say. Seldom do I encounter a blog that’s both equally educative and interesting, and let me tell you, you’ve hit the nail on the head. The issue is something that not enough folks are speaking intelligently about. I’m very happy I came across this in my hunt for something
regarding this.
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I have a sign portrait of Joe Lewis 24X24 how do I find the value. Ms. Pittman’
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Does any body knows what company manufacture it? Please respond if you know
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Comment 1
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