Popular Houston artist David Adickes erects massive JFK bust near IAH

"Bringing public art to East Aldine has become my passion over the past few years and today was quite the blessing," Silva wrote in a Tuesday Facebook post, which included photos alongside Adickes in front of the statue. "It's been 2 years to the month from the time I met Mr. David Adickes to finally erecting a monumental statue of JFK on JFK in our community...... it's been quite a ride, and to think we're only getting started! This one is for the people of East Aldine and for our great city of Houston!!!!"

The site is still under construction as the statue's head and shoulders, which are separate, still need to be welded together and covered in plaster in addition to some other finishing touches. "But the presence of the bust on the base definitely turns heads (no pun intended)," Silva joked in a email on Wednesday. The artwork will also be inscribed with excerpts from Kennedy's famous 1962 speech at Rice University announcing NASA's mission to land a man on the moon. "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard," Kennedy told a crowd of 30,000 at the time. 

The ambitious project has been two years in the making, Silva said. "Mr. Adickes already has made JFK as a part of his presidential series but this was the only JFK he had and it was just sitting inside his studio," he wrote. "And I had the idea of putting JFK on JFK. He immediately liked the idea and well that's how it got started." Once it's complete, the Aldine District will hold a ceremony to celebrate the official installation of the statue, which Silva predicts will likely be in mid-February. 

Other artworks by Adickes include his famous outdoor sculpture of a larger-than-life cello in downtown Houston and a 67-foot-tall Sam Houston monument on Interstate 45 near Huntsville. Last year, Adickes was honored by the City of Houston for his contributions to the Bayou City's art scene.

"In his illustrious 95 years of life, David Adickes' exhibitions have graced countless galleries and museums worldwide, starting in Houston with the DuBose Gallery," Mayor Sylvester Turner wrote on Facebook in April, 2022. "The City of Houston commends and appreciates David for his invaluable contributions to this city's cultural art scene."