I pass by both these fine gentlemen on a weekly basis, so I’ve had lots of time to ponder their similarities and differences. The one on top is John McGraw, who served as the second governor of Washington and was president of the Seattle chamber of Commerce for many years. The one below is, of course, Vladimir Lenin, who is described by Wikipedia as "a Russian revolutionary, author, lawyer, economic theorist, political philosopher, creator of the Soviet Community Party, leader of the 1917 October revolution, and founder of the USSR."
One waits patiently – for the streetcar, perhaps? – with walking stick and newspaper in hand, while the other strides boldly forward through the flames of revolution. One was a benevolent elected official and bureaucrat, the other was responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths. One presides over a plaza named after him in downtown Seattle, the other is privately owned and displayed with permission of the city. Probably very few people remember who McGraw was, but everyone knows Lenin. As a Fremont artist’s website notes, “Lenin represents a tragically flawed system which persecuted and killed millions of people. There are many people more worthy of being cast in bronze, but Lenin ended up in Fremont. He is a profound reminder that art can outlive politics.”
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