Dead Precedents

Based on the incredibly bizarre dreamscape of Mr. Borglum, et al., this human-induced erosion of what was once a lovely mountain vista (which was conceived as a tourist attraction) and is now aptly called the “Shrine of Democracy”,  this piece is a commentary on the erosion of the ideals and aspirations of the American Dream.  The secondary images I have embedded in the original gang of four are: (l.-r.) Betty Grable’s famous wartime motivational pin-up, stereotypical pancake sales icon Aunt Jemima, legitimate hero turned fake hero Buffalo Bill Cody, baseball’s antichrist Ty Cobb,  mentally damaged astronaut Buzz Aldrin on the moon,  a doomed Mandan buffalo dancer based on Bodmer’s painting,  and a version of the meeting between Nixon and Elvis (where the King was granted a federal marshal’s badge to help him fight drugs).

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