| This 1994 sculpture by Diana K. Moore, a large, blindfolded head of the Greek titaness Themis, is in the courtyard in front of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Courthouse at the Government Center in Newark. Justice is 11 tall, 8.8 ft wide, 9 ft (2.7 m) long, and made of cast concrete. Moore drew inspiration from the traditions of “Khmer pieces from Cambodia, Etruscan, early Greek, and Egyptian figures”, the Colossus of Constantine, African masks, Olmec statues, and Eastern motifs such as the figure of Buddha. Themis, in Greek religion, is the incarnation of justice, goddess of wisdom and good counsel, and the interpreter of the gods’ will. A poem written by Mark Strand, the 1991 Poet Laureate of the United States, is carved around the sculpture’s base: “When Justice does its public part | it educates the human heart, | The erring human heart in turn, | must do its private part and learn.” |
Monday’s Monument: “Justice”, Newark, New Jersey
