Sculptor Julia Knight shapes images and embodies history
Julia Knight’s studio is filled with clay molds and in-process sculptures that, when completed, will be or have been displayed in public and private spaces.
A bronze statue of civil rights activist Rosa Parks—purse in hand and climbing steps—is prominently displayed beside the steps of the Alabama State Capitol overlooking Dexter Avenue in Montgomery. The 9-foot statue that Knight created was unveiled last October and is titled “Rosa Parks Stepping into Equality.” In her Chamblee studio at Urban Arts Collective, a much smaller replica of that bronze statue is displayed with a $23,000 price tag.
“I want you to be reminded of her resolve and commitment to step up, take action, powerfully communicating the thinking behind that action,” said Knight at the unveiling according to news reports. “Rosa Parks was not a tired seamstress; she was a dedicated activist.”
A sculptor for more than 30 years, Knight has created a wide range of works including a series of likenesses of athletes for Polk County Sports Walk of Fame in Cedartown, Georgia, which opened in 2016. They represent six local citizens who distinguished themselves in major league sports: Ray Beck and Edgar Chandler, NFL football; Doug Sanders, PGA golf; Whitlow Wyatt, major league baseball; Doc Ayers and Jimmy Hightower, college football coaches. That project took Knight three years to complete all six life-size bronze statues.
Knight explained that in addition to commissioned projects for groups and individuals, she also secures work through the competitive process of submitting her ideas for a project.
She’s currently working on statues of civil rights leader John Lewis as well as a native American woman holding a planting stick and corn seeds and facing an uncertain future.
Before Knight touches the pliable clay to form the first variations of an image, she thoroughly researches the subject and the circumstances surrounding the individual’s life and times. That process can take weeks or months.
“It’s important that I know what I’m talking about because that bronze statue is going to be there for a long, long time,” said Knight.
“I think being an artist you can enhance the truth. I feel like I need to know the truth because somebody is going to be looking at the statue, and I want them to know the story…. I want to stick close to the truth,” she said.
The statue in process of the Native American woman is Knight’s interpretation based on a 1837 letter from Gen. John Wool to the Cherokee Nation, in part stating that the Native Americans have “but one summer more to plant corn” before they will be forced to leave their lands.
“She has no place else to go,” said Knight of the forlorn expression of the clay model of the woman. Several other clay models have the woman in slightly different poses with slightly modified facial expressions.
The work is in the admission stage with a decision expected later in July. Knight remains hopeful that she will be chosen to complete the sculpture. The Rotary club of Rome, Ga is raising money for this commission.
The John Lewis statue will feature him smiling and waving in a Ford Falcon convertible reminiscent of when he led the Inman Park Parade. Organizers are currently raising funds for the project.
Urban Arts Collective is home to more than 30 artists who create and display their work there as well as interact with the public on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10-2 p.m. The collective hosts three ARtWalks each year. The next “Artwalk” is Sept. 13 and the big Christmas Show and Sale is the first weekend in December.
