The artist responsible for the statue of retired NBA star Dwyane Wade — which has been getting dragged on social media since it was unveiled by the Miami Heat over the weekend — is defending his work. The artist is telling critics that they don’t know anything about what goes into constructing and maintaining such a sculpture.
Absolutely losing it at D Wade’s reaction to seeing his statue…
“I can’t believe it… Who is that guy?”
LMMAAOO pic.twitter.com/eZET5w7Z7G
— Josh Reynolds (@JoshReynolds24) October 27, 2024
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that is NOT D Wade bro
if the Heat decide to fix the statue we’re gonna give away 100x FREE LINEUPS for a shot to win $5,000 to random people who like this
pic.twitter.com/ukM2dCgg1d
— PrizePicks (@PrizePicks) October 27, 2024
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Days after people on the internet unanimously responded to the unveiling of the Wade statue with a resounding, “Harpo, who dis man?” the artist, Oscar Leon, told NBC News, “To the critics, there’s a lot that needs to be understood.”
“We have to seal everything to keep the integrity of the sculpture,” Leon continued. “However, that does create a funny little side effect of being glossy in areas that we are not used to seeing when we look at somebody in the flesh.”
Leon appears to be under the impression that the statue’s “glossy” finish in certain “areas” is why people have been dogging the sculpture, not because it looks like he put Trick Daddy’s head on top of Wade’s body.
“The sealer definitely creates a little bit of, um, a misunderstanding to the eye. So, I would definitely encourage everyone to come to Miami and view it in person,” he explained.
Sir…
At this point, most people have seen this statue honoring Wade from every angle and camera distance imaginable, and so far we haven’t seen a single image of it that doesn’t look like a civil rights violation in a Heat jersey. It just really doesn’t seem like viewing the statue in person is going to change anyone’s perception of it.
To be fair, Wade himself also appeared to defend Leon’s work, and he also did so by pointing out that common folk don’t know the process that went into its creation.
From thegrio:
“I don’t know a lot of people with a statue. Do you know anybody? In here, y’all know anything about the process of the statue?” Wade asked the media Monday, Sports Illustrated reported. “No one out there does, neither. It’s an unbelievable process to be a part of and it’s a complicated process.”
Leon told NBC News the sculpture took over 800 hours to produce, sixteen of which were spent with Wade. The artists received final approval from Wade’s closest friends and Miami Heat executives. In posts to his Instagram Stories, Wade revealed more of the behind-the-scenes process, including shots of himself posing with a version of the statue’s face.
OK, fine, so the piece took a long time and a lot of effort to make.
That still doesn’t change that it looks like Joe Jackson in Dwayne Wade’s gear. Jussayin’.
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Photo: Getty
