The artist responsible for the statue of retired NBA star Dwyane Wade — which has been drawing attention on social media since being unveiled by the Miami Heat over the weekend — defends his work. The artist tells critics that they know nothing about what goes into the construction and maintenance of such a sculpture.
He absolutely lost it with D Wade's reaction to seeing his statue…
“I can't believe it… Who is this guy?”
LMMAAOO pic.twitter.com/eZET5w7Z7G
— Josh Reynolds (@JoshReynolds24) October 27, 2024
this is NOT D Wade bro 💀
if the Heat decide to build the statue, we'll be giving away 100x FREE LINEUP for a shot to win $5,000 to random people who like this 😭
— PrizePicks (@PrizePicks) October 27, 2024
Days after people on the Internet unanimously responded to the unveiling of the Wade statue with a resounding, “Harpo, who is the man?” said artist Oscar Leon NBC News“For critics, there's a lot to understand.”
“We have to seal everything to maintain the integrity of the sculpture,” Leon continued. “However, this creates a funny little side effect of being shiny in areas we're not used to seeing when looking at someone in the flesh.”
Leon seems to be under the impression that the statue's “shiny” finish in certain “areas” is why people were looking for the sculpt, not because it looks like he put Trick Daddy's head on top of Wade's body.
“The sealer definitely creates a little misunderstanding in the eye. So I would definitely encourage everyone to come to Miami and see it for themselves,” 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 really doesn't seem like seeing the statue up close 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 the general public is unaware of the process that went into its creation.
From thegrio:
“I don't know many people with a statue. Do you know anyone? In here, do you know anything about the statue process?” Wade asked the media on Monday, Sports Illustrated was mentioned. “Nobody out there does, either. It's an incredible process to be a part of and it's a complex process.”
Leon told NBC News that the sculpture took more than 800 hours to make, 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 footage of him posing with a version of the statue's face.
Okay, okay, so the piece took a lot of time and a lot of effort to make.
That still doesn't change the fact that he looks like Joe Jackson in Dwyane Wade gear. Jussayin'.
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Photo: Getty
