Kehinde Wiley’s “Rumors of War” statue to be permanently installed at the VMFA December 10th

To put it gently, Times Square in New York City is a four-block den of entropy, filled with noise, lights, smells, and motion that would make anyone exhausted by the mere thought of entering. Times Square is hysteria, avoided by most New Yorkers at all costs unless they have to for work or Jah forbid, find someone or something.

The giant LED advertisements, the people dressed as Elmo and Superman, those poor souls employed by the open-air SuperBus handing out flyers obstruct the sidewalk; the cacophony of tourists hollering over the symphonic racket of chaos flood the ears. Wafts of cheap tubed meats, grilled peppers and onions mix with bus fumes and unidentifiable odors to create a unique, confusing olfactory sensation. It is the opposite of tranquility unless sensory explosion is your thing.

Since September 21st, one thing has stood quietly amongst the dizzying maelstrom of Times Square providing solace, contemplation, and stillness. Kehinde Wiley’s 27-foot bronze statue, Rumors of War. That was until December 1st when the artwork began the journey 330 miles south to its permanent home at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Depicting a man of color in casual wear atop a horse, Wiley’s first public sculpture stands on a base of limestone not dissimilar to the sculptures that line Monument Avenue. The name of the piece may derive from a verse of Matthew 24:6 (King James edition): “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”

December 10th, Rumors of War will be unveiled on the front lawn of the VMFA along Arthur Ashe Boulevard in a ceremony beginning at 330 PM. The artwork will be facing north and will undoubtedly provide public and private discourse with the Richmond community and beyond.

Gaudy advertisements and hordes of tourists may not constantly surround Rumors at its permanent location. There will certainly be commotion though, and there will be thought. Wiley’s artwork should be considered on its own and within its environment. Nuance, amongst the disarray.