Although the idea for a statue to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. was proposed in 1985, NIU students have yet to see any sort of artwork commemorating the civil rights leader on campus.

However, Eddie Williams, vice-president of Finance and Planning and director of Budget and Planning, said, “A committee has decided on a national competition of an art piece of any form” that will reprensent King. He said the form of the artwork will depend on the artist.

A search committee was formed of NIU faculty, staff and students after NIU officials scrapped a partially completed $21,000 statue last January, taking a $7,000 loss.

The sculptor of the first statue, Ernest Davidson, took the job after the Black Student Union proposed the idea five years ago. Davidson received $10,000 from the Student Association for the statue which would be placed in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commons “free speech area” after renovations are completed.

Williams said the new competition set a $75,000 price for the artwork itself, plus expenses for other costs including site costs, competition costs and arrangements for the transportation and insurance of the completed work.

However, Dr. Admasu Zike, Center for Black Studies director said, “Several groups are working on this (the cost factor), but right now, we don’t know where the money is coming from.”

“We will not be asking for any kind of student fees. There will be no increase in feels,” Williams said.

A brochure about the competition states, “The purpose of this national competition is to select an artist who will design, construct and oversee the installation of a suitable sculptural tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. at Northern Illinois University.”

The brochure also states the artwork can be of any medium as long as it is made from permanent materials and the work should be “reasonably maintenance-free.”

“Whatever the artists bring would be acceptable,” Zike said.

The competition schedule marks the deadline for artwork proposal applications as Oct. 1, 1990.

Further, on Nov. 1 a selection committee comprised of three outside people, three faculty/staff members and three NIU students will choose five finalists who will be asked to design and construct a maquette (model) of the proposed memorial artwork.

A design fee of $700 will be awarded to each of the finalists to cover costs of time and materials, as well as transportation to NIU to display the maquettes. The deadline for the maquettes to be received by NIU is Feb. 1.

Then, from Feb. 6 through March 31 there will be an NIU Art Museum exhibition of the finalists’ maquettes, drawings and photographs of their proposed artworks. The winner of the competition will be announced at the end of the exhibition.

Sept. 1 has been marked as the day for the installation of the Martin Luther King, Jr. tribute., Williams said.