After three hours of labor, a 28-foot, 24,000 pound Afro pick sculpture was installed in an empty lot on 52nd Street in West Philadelphia.
The sculpture, which also boats a clenched Black Power fist, was designed by Black multimedia artist, Hank Willis Thomas, and is titled “All Power to All People”.
The Afro pick is a part of a larger, national touring art program called Monumental. The organizers of Monumental, Kindred Arts, is a nonprofit organization based in New York City and Little Giant Creative, a Philly-based creative agency.
The sculpture is one of three artworks in Monumental and will remain in Philly until November before heading to the west coast.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports, “The large Afro pick will be displayed in other locations in Philly, and the two additional pieces from the collection will be introduced throughout the month. Details are under wraps to preserve the element of surprise, but North Philly is next, according to Marsha Reid, Kindred Arts executive director. The two other large-scale pieces in the Monumental collection are works from acclaimed artists Kehinde Wiley and Arthur Jafa.”
The Afro pick has become synonymous with Black culture since pre-colonial times, however, it gained national cultural significance during the height of the Black Power movement of the 60s-80s in America (alongside the Black Power Fist). At it’s core, however, the Afro pick will always be a symbol of Black pride and cultural identity… because Black is the Standard.
