'Los Angeles embodies diversity.' The city's new sculpture celebrating freedom is unveiled

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Ali Razi fled Iran in 1978, came to Los Angeles, and found a place where he could thrive. He traced much of his success and that of others here to one core principle: freedom.

On Tuesday — the Fourth of July — the prominent developer, now 77, was on hand to unveil a new public art installation in Los Angeles, the Freedom Sculpture, which Razi and others in the Iranian American community hope will be a beacon for the world.

“America is great because of all the beautiful cultures brought by immigrants,” Razi said. When people drive by the sculpture along Santa Monica Boulevard, he said, he hopes they ask: “What is this freedom? This shared dream is based on what?”

Artist and designer Cecil Balmond agrees it is a symbol of timeless values of freedom and tolerance. Balmond, whose proposal was chosen from among more than 300 others as the design for the $2.2-million sculpture, said the pair of gold and silver cylinders set atop rings is to be seen at speed.

“I know Santa Monica Boulevard well,” said Balmond, who lives in Britain and has completed large public art installations around the world. “As you drive by at 30 to 40 miles an hour, you feel the script moving. It’s not static….. When you move past, it’s alive.”

Production of the sculpture was organized by the Farhang Foundation, an L.A.-based nonprofit organization, and the unveiling was part of the inaugural Freedom Festival, a nightlong block party that featured live music, food and fireworks. The Farhang Foundation promotes the study and appreciation of Iranian art and culture. Organizers said they hope the Freedom Festival becomes an annual event.

The sculpture is a permanent addition to the median at Century Park East, about a block from the Westfield Century City Mall and at the gateway to Beverly Hills. The area is home to many from a sizable diaspora of Iranian Americans in Southern California. Community groups estimate that about 500,000 Iranian Americans live in the region, the largest enclave outside Iran.

The 20,000-pound piece is set upon travertine stone and was built entirely in the U.S. It is the newest addition to Century City — a neighborhood of towering office buildings — but it traces its inspiration back 2,500 years to the Cyrus Cylinder, which was unearthed by the British Museum in 1879.

The 9-inch barrel is inscribed with the story of Cyrus, the king of Persia, and his conquest of Babylon. The artifact is seen as a testament to how Cyrus brought justice and peace to Bablyon.

Razi, the founding chairman of the Farhang Foundation, said the Cyrus Cylinder carries special symbolic weight on the Fourth of July.

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