An Interview with Sculptor LaQuincey Reed
LaQuincey is an artist based in Oklahoma City, OK.
We had the chance to talk with artist LaQuincey Reed about his sculpture of Clara Luper, and where you can view his work!
After creating a bust of Clara Luper for the Oklahoma State Capitol, LaQuincey was commissioned to again celebrate the life and legacy of the civil rights activist by creating a life-sized bronze sculpture of her for the Clara Luper Sit-In Plaza.
LaQuincey is the SPACE Artist in Residence; you’ll find him working on the figure of Ms. Luper in a studio on the first floor of the Skirvin Hilton – a building that Ms. Luper and her students worked to get desegregated. It’s special in several ways for LaQuincey, who described people from all of over the country visiting, watching and inquiring.
“I get to talk up the state, the city and the arts in OKC. I hope I’m a bit of an ambassador.”
The historic plaza will commemorate the 1958 sit-in that took place when Ms. Luper organized a group of her students to stage a non-violent sit-in protest at Katz Drug Store. The plaza will feature the 13 sit-inners alongside Ms. Luper at a counter. On the other side of the 16-foot bronze countertop, being designed by Studio EIS of New York City, will be a drugstore employee.
The photos show LaQuincey with Ms. Luper’s daughter, Marilyn Luper Hildreth, viewing the work-in-progress. He described working thoughtfully to honor Ms. Luper’s memory, but also incorporate who she was over a lifetime. She was a teacher, mother, friend, and she touched many lives. LaQuincey hopes that the sculpture expresses how people feel about her.
