Two years after the plane crash that claimed the lives of basketball great Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, who died when their helicopter crashed in Calabasas, California, a monument to the father and daughter has been temporarily installed at the crash site. The bronze sculptural group, about four feet tall in all, was created by local artist Dan Medina: Kobe Bryant is depicted in a Los Angeles Lakers game uniform, hugging his daughter. She, on the other hand, holds a basketball (the girl, who was only 13 years old, was also considered a promise of the sport), and is caught looking at her father.
Also killed in the accident were driver Ara Zobayan, coach John Altobelli and wife Keri, the couple’s daughter Alyssa, coach Christina Mauser, and two other passengers, Sarah and Payton Chester, mother and daughter. The names of the accident victims are all inscribed on the base of the statue, where the dedication to Kobe Bryant also reads, “Heroes come and go, but legends remain forever.”
Medina personally took charge of transporting the small monument to the accident site, climbing the hill and encountering not a few difficulties since the place is impassable. The artist had to load the statue onto a cart that he dragged by hand all the way up the path, even having to stop and repair it when one of the handles broke. Also present with him were a handful of fans who laid flowers and gathered to commemorate the champion.
At the end of the ceremony, Medina, who stayed on the hill until sunset, returned the statue to the valley. His hope now is that the work can be permanently installed, in a larger version of itself, in a public place in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles, installed a statue for Kobe Bryant at the site where he lost his life |
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