Bureau
of Cultural Affairs Awarded
the SOS!
Monumental Defender Certificate
at
Booker T. Washington Sculpture Re-dedication
By: Alonzo Craig
For Immediate Release
(Atlanta, GA) - The City of Atlanta Bureau of Cultural Affairs
received the Save Outdoor Sculpture!(SOS!) Monumental Defender Certificate, at
the re-dedication of its latest public art restoration located at Booker T.
Washington High School. The certificate is a tangible note of appreciation for
the significant efforts put forth by the Bureau of Cultural Affairs to preserve
a vital part of our nation’s heritage for the next millennium. The SOS! Program,
a nationwide initiative of Heritage Preservation and the Smithsonian American
Art Museum, granted the original monetary award to help Atlanta preserve this
artistically and historically significant public outdoor
sculpture.
This bronze statue, created by Charles Keck
in 1926, is named "Lifting the Veil of Ignorance." Since its original dedication
in 1927, time, progress, nature and vandals have taken their toll. Well known
conservationist, Theodore Monnich of Columbia, South Carolina, completed
the restoration treatment in May 2000 and the landmark has been returned to
its original appearance. The statue has been added to the SOS! 2000 Honor
Roll of preserved outdoor sculptures. Camille Russell Love, Director of the
Bureau of Cultural Affairs states "the restoration of this statue honors all
Atlantans, for this is one of the city’s most significant examples of public
art. In particular, we salute all those who attended the school, past, present
and future, by returning the art work to its original splendor."
Washington High is currently under the
guidance of principal Dr. Shirley Kilgore and is one of Atlanta’s most historic
centers of education. Famous graduates include civil rights activist, Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr.; television star, Julius ‘Nipsie’ Russell; Georgia’s first
African American State Senator, Leroy Johnson; baseball star, Don Clendennon and
countless politicians, college professors, judges, newsmen, physicians and
attorneys.
The SOS! program is made possible with
generous support from Target Stores and the National Endowment for the Arts.
First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton announced the program in July 1998 as part of
the White House Millennium Council’s Save America’s Treasures initiative.
Clinton said "This remarkable effort will help monuments stand proudly and fully
preserved for the new century. It is an example of how we can rededicate
ourselves to preserving what is best about America. It is up to all of us to
preserve our heritage."