Seven very fine sculptures, each belonging to the San Diego Civic Art Collection, are located inside the Valencia Park/Malcolm X Branch Library. I discovered them last weekend when I visited the library to experience a Black History Month event.
The bronze sculptures, most of them gilded and painted, were all created by Ed Dwight, an artist who resides in Denver, Colorado. The largest work, depicting Malcolm X, stands near the center of the library.
The other half dozen sculptures honor legendary American jazz musicians. They are displayed in cases inside the library’s community room. Their titles are: Eubie’s Boogie, Jazz Guitar, Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson, Fats Waller, Bessie Smith, and Miles Davis.
The artist has a remarkable and rather unexpected background! As search results from the San Diego Civic Art website explain:
Dwight was the first African American to be trained as an astronaut. Dwight began his career as an artist after many years working in various fields including the military, engineering, and real estate. His first important commission was a sculpture of Colorado’s first black Lieutenant Governor, George Brown, in 1974. Since then, he has been prolific in creating homages to the most significant contributions of black culture to American history. His work has focused on the history of jazz and its significant figures, as well as civil rights activists and African American pioneers…
It was difficult taking good photographs with reflections on the glass cases creating interference. I encourage everyone to check out the above link and see good images of all seven sculptures, or, better yet, head over to the Valencia Park/Malcolm X Branch Library and begin your own exploration!
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