Lei Yixin

Infobox Person
name = Lei Yixin
zh-s|s=雷宜锌


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birth_date = 1954
birth_place = Changsha
death_date =
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other_names =
known_for = Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial
occupation = Sculptor

Lei Yixin born ca. 1953, is a prominent Chinese sculptor. He has been designated "Master Sculptor" at home.

Lei was born to a family of scholars in Changsha, Hunan, China.

Lei was one of millions of "bourgeois educated youth" sent to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution. As a way to develop a skill other than farming during the seven years he spent toiling in the fields, Lei started drawing. His diary became his scrapbook, with a few lines of comments of his drawings. When Lei applied to college, he submitted the diary as his portfolio.

Lei was among the first class of students after the Cultural Revolution to be able to go to art school in 1978; he graduated in 1982.Ariana Eunjung Cha, "A King Statue 'Made in China'?", The Washington Post, August 14, 2007]

He first found work in a publishing company as a draughtsman, but was spotted by a local government official, who asked and encouraged him to build monuments.

Lei won top prizes in national competitions three consecutive years, and was recognised as a master sculptor, which came with a lifetime stipend from the Chinese government. He has sculpted some 150 public monuments, including statues of Mao Zedong. Some of his works are in China's National Art Gallery collection [Liu Enming, [http://www.wwenglish.com/en/voa/stan/2007/02/2007022816934.htm Master sculptor selected for Martin Luther King, Jr memorial"] , "WWEnglish.com", 27 February 2007] Yixin came to the attention of the American public when he was named artist-of-record and commissioned to sculpt the centerpiece for the proposed monument to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. [AFP, REUTERS [http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=10&art_id=38534&sid=12267862&con_type=1&d_str=20070217&sear_year=2007 "Mao sculptor to chisel Martin Lither King"] , "The Standard", 17 February 2007] The announcement of Yixin spurred an international protest spearheaded by Gilbert Young and Lea-Winfrey Young, co-founders of the organization King Is Ours www.kingisours.com, a multi-racial and multi-cultural organization formed to protest the decisions made by the King Memorial Project Foundation which included choosing Yixin without due process. According to the the Associated Foreign Press, it was only by chance that memorial organizers found Lei when they visited an international granite-carving festival in the American state of Minnesota. [Associated Foreign Press, 4/3/2007 [http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2007/04/12/2003356383 "Made in China Statue of US Icon King to Stand Tall in Washington"] , published by Taipei Times, 12 April 2007] Yixin was "discovered" under a tree, taking a nap after he was pointed out to the King Memorial Project Foundation committee with the words, "you should talk to that guy over there, pointing to Lei."Ben Evans, Associated Foreign Press, [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20070826/ai_n20524373 "Race row hits memorial for Martin Luther King"] , Independent on Sunday, 26 Aug 2007]

The 2.3 metre-tall sculpture at the International Stone Sculpture Conference drew attention to his work [ [http://www.newsgd.com/culture/culturenews/200608160050.htm Chinese artist to sculpt statue of Martin Luther King] , News Guangdong, August 16, 2006] , yet Yixin has revealed that the sculpture he created at the conference was the first he had ever carved on his own Symposium showcases Diversity of Minnesota Stone, Building Stone Magazine, Winter 2006. Ed Jackson, the executive architect at the foundation of MLK Foundation was immediately impressed by Lei's sculpture "Contemplation" [ [http://minnesotarocks.org/lei_xin_mlk.htm Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Project commissions Minnesota Rocks! artist Lei Yixin] ] at the "Minnesota Rocks! Symposium" in June of 2006 [Mike Xiong, [http://www.chinainsight.info/may2007/may2007masterlei.htm "MLK committee decides Chinese master sculptor is the right artist for the job"] , China Insight, July 17, 2007] [Todd Messelt, [http://www.buildingstonemagazine.com/winter-06/minnesota.html Symposium Showcases Diversity of Minnesota Stone] , "Building Stone", Winter 2006] and in 2007, Lei was named head sculptor for the "Stone of Hope", at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial [ [http://www.mlkmemorial.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=hkIUL9MVJxE&b=1601411&ct=3573181 Chinese master sculptor to produce MLK memorial carving] , CNN, February 15, 2007]

In April, 2008 the U.S. Commission of Fine Art rejected Yixin's design for the King Memorial Sculpture. In a letter dated April 28th, the commission wrote that Yixin's presentation was an inappropriate expression of Dr. King and that Yixin's model recalled the genre of political sculpture that has recently been destroyed in other countries Federal Panel Rejects Design for King Memorial Sculpture, Kevin Chappell, Jet Magazine, June 16, 2008 .

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