Focus on Statue of Mahatma Gandhi (San Francisco) and explore the Reception.
The statue was dedicated by Art Agnos, the Mayor of San Francisco, on October 3, 1988. A similar statue by the same sculptors, Paunov and Lowe, was unveiled under a banyan tree in Kapiolani Park in Honolulu in 1990.msnbc.com contributor Chris Rodell wrote that the sculpture of Gandhi, a "renowned vegetarian", was appropriate for the plaza, being the site of a weekly farmers' market.In 2010, a group called the Organization for Minorities of India, which formed to protest the oppression of Indian minorities, demanded the removal of the sculpture, claiming Gandhi was a racist "who harbored violent urges".The sculpture is a known target for vandalism; the eyeglasses are the most-stolen item, and the staff has been broken on several occasions.
banyan tree farmers' market San Francisco Art Agnos Honolulu Mayor of San Francisco Kapiolani Park msnbc.com