Donald Trump wanted 250 monuments on the 250th anniversary of the US. “It's a kind of trolling”
“It seems completely impossible,” says Daniel Kunitz, editor of the sculpture magazine.
The ambitious plan of Donald Trump assumes the exposure of 250 statues of natural size before the 250th “Nation's Birthday”which fall on July 4 next year. Recently, the administration was decimated by federal arts dealing with art, and the remains of the staff were redirected to a 34 million dollars in the open air. [ok. 127 mln zł]. This is one of Trump's goals since his first term.
“It will be something unusual,” Trump promised in February the audience gathered in the White House. – We will create one of the most beautiful works of art.
According to one of the several executive regulations regarding this idea, all this is to “reflect the amazing glow of the timeless uniqueness of our country.”
Unfortunately, the schedule almost guarantees something much less amazing, wonderful or timeless. And, quite possible, something less American. “Abstract or modernist” statues were forbidden with a small print. And the largest community of craftsmen and producers working in the old -school realistic style preferred by Trump turns out to be to be Not in the USA, and in China.
“This would overload the possibilities of artists in this country who do such things, as well as the possibilities of the foundry,” says Dylan Farnum, who was led by Walla Walla Foundry for years, one of the foundry best evaluated in America. – There are places where they can really figure something like that. They can do it in China.
Many American foundations of works of art are reserved in advance from half to a year and a half. There are not many of them either. The list of the international sculpture center has 69 places. Although the technology has accelerated – nowadays you can print the 3D model before its casting – faster production often requires cooperation with bets from China or other countries.
At best, such cooperation can lead to a decent statue at a decent price. But if the work is sloppy and without inspiration, A cheap mannequin may come out of the image rather than a national monument.
“This will not give a quality to which we usually strive,” admits Andrew Pharmmer, who runs a large foundry of works of art in Kingston, New York. – If you sculpt something physically, you can get details at the level of the fingerprint. In my experience, nothing digital can achieve this.
Someone compared the Trump project to the state version of the Madame Tussaud wax Museum: maybe tempting for tourists, but under no circumstances are the admiration not.
Wax figure of Donald Trump at the Madame Tussauds Museum in Budapest. Illustrative photo
The White House did not answer detailed questions about the schedule or the use of foreign objects. “The National Garden of American heroes will be a beautiful monument to the spirit of America” - is the general response of the press office.
Impossible schedule
Even bypassing the fears of transport through Pacific (and new duties), the schedule is tight. Federal authorities have not yet assigned sculptors of specific statues. The deadline for submitting applications is July 1, only 368 days before the 250th anniversary of the United States. Candidates should choose 10 or 20 names from the list of historical heroes of Trump; The National Endowment for the Humanities will then inform the winners who they are supposed to score. This will not happen only at the end of September, which again reduces the date. The delivery date is June 1, 2026.
It is also not clear who will apply. Not the best opinions about Trump in the artistic environment They may discourage some candidates. And although the commissions amount to 200,000 hole. [750 tys. zł] For the statue, it seems less tempting if you take into account the costs of casting and base material. According to administration, it must be marble, granite, brown, copper or brass.
In 2022, Arkansas allocated 750,000 hole. [obecnie ok. 2,8 mln zł] To create brown statues of singer Johnny Cash and the heroine of the fight for civil rights Daisy Bates as the United States Capitol.
Unveiling of the Johnny Cash monument on the Capitol. September 24, 2024
Because many outstanding American sculptors do not perform traditional figurative works, Artists fighting for orders may also have less experience in prestigious projects. This is not necessarily a problem, especially for traditionalists who are counting on promoting artists using classic styles. However, this increases the likelihood of schedule problems.
“It's easy to render Dick Van Dyke's sculpture with artificial intelligence,” Pharmacy tells me. – It's much easier than actually doing it.
It is not without reason that sculptural orders, even in the era of computer modeling and automated chiseling, can last for years. Especially in the case of dead people. The challenges include finding a picture, creating models on a scale, carving the final form, casting the natural size of the statue, and then transporting a very heavy final product and supervising its installation.
What's more, public art usually requires cooperation and feedback from who orders work. This is a diplomatic dance that further slows down the action. – You announce the inquiry, and then there is a long period of cooperation with institutions – said Kunitz. – The year is unlikely.
“This is a circus mentality and he is a showman”
There is still a matter of location of the garden itself. She is not yet. The plan assumes finding the right place, which has not yet succeeded, although the Governor of the South Dakota He offered a place in Black Hills near Mount Rushmore. Assuming that the place will work, it will still have to be acquired, cleaned and prepared for a huge collection of statues and (which the authorities count on) an even larger collection of tourists.
Rushmore shadow would certainly fit into the political dimension of the project. The garden, first announced among the protests in 2020, was a neat ideological positioning: the left wants to destroy monuments, and Trump celebrates America who is not going to apologize. His executive decree contained a long list of heroes, including founding fathers, abolitionist Sojourner Truth, Marek Twain, Eleanor Roosevelt, Muhammad Ali, Judge William Rehnquist, Whitney Houston and Steve Jobs [a także Tadeusza Kościuszkę — red.].
Mount Rushmore. The image of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln
The controversial list of monuments had to attract a lot of attention. Trump's proposals included several characters with controversial views on the race, such as Krzysztof Columbus, President Andrew Jackson and ornithologist John James Audubon. Others believe that the list of conservative intellectuals (e.g. Russell Kirk, Milton Friedman, William F. Buckley Jr, Jeane Kirkpatrick) is more extensive than leftist thinkers. There are also surprising choicessuch as Alex Trebek, born in Canada host of the game show Jeopardy.
However – what is typical of our permanent era of cultural war – Political anger diverted attention from the basic logistics of the plan And from the question of whether the end product would be, as a simple issue of aesthetics, worthy of a great country. In the world of fine arts, the answer to this last question seems to be: no.
“It doesn't seem very serious,” comments Kunitz. – It's a kind of trolling.
This is a classic artistic division in the times of populism: Should the project strive for attractiveness for masses, location on a selfie on instagram and crazy poses? Or should he – as the conservative critics of culture have been emphasized for a long time – try to be a permanent masterpiece of civilization?
Trump's whole career shows quite well what the answer of his administration will be. No matter how eloquently they can talk about creating a testimony of American size.
“It's a circus mentality, and he is a showman,” says Ken Lum, a sculptor and professor at the Pennsylvania University, who creates large public monuments in a naturalistic style. Lum says that he is not an optimist as to the political influence of the garden, but believes that it may be popular if the administration manages to realize it – If not a monument forever, then as a roadside attraction.
– Many people going to Mount Rushmore will have at their disposal public bathrooms, stands and souvenirs, as well as the opportunity to take a photo with Babe Ruth, Martin Luther King or someone else – notes the sculptor.
