Public Art #1
American artist John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum sculpted this piece as a monument to a 19th Century Illinois governor. This monument was installed two years after the famous 1913 New York Armory Show that Borglum helped organize only to resign in opposition to the show’s emphasis on avant-garde art. It was installed eight years before Gutzon made the first cut into Stone Mountain and twelve years before he started work on Mount Rushmore. There is some historical debate around whether he was a member of the Ku Klux Klan or if he was a non-member who attended rallies and served on committees. The purpose of this distinction is lost on me. Surely, he was a bigot either way.
Almost a century later, my little brother was assigned Gutzon Borglum for a “Nebraskan Heroes” history project. After an emergency parent teacher conference, it was agreed that the Klan robes on the third grader’s poster would be censored before being displayed in the hallway. That was both the first time I heard the name Gutzon Borglum and the first time I learned that he sucks shit. Knowing the artist responsible for the memorial, I was surprised to learn that this governor was an immigrant best known for progressive child labor laws and pardoning anarchists.
Gutzon Borglum is an alumnus of Creighton Preparatory School. I once won a Kyle Korver bobble-head at a Creighton Prep quiz bowl tournament.
Almost a century later, my little brother was assigned Gutzon Borglum for a “Nebraskan Heroes” history project. After an emergency parent teacher conference, it was agreed that the Klan robes on the third grader’s poster would be censored before being displayed in the hallway. That was both the first time I heard the name Gutzon Borglum and the first time I learned that he sucks shit. Knowing the artist responsible for the memorial, I was surprised to learn that this governor was an immigrant best known for progressive child labor laws and pardoning anarchists.
Gutzon Borglum is an alumnus of Creighton Preparatory School. I once won a Kyle Korver bobble-head at a Creighton Prep quiz bowl tournament.
