For years I’ve been following the progress of the Crazy Horse Memorial, the world’s largest sculpture, now in progress, located just 17 miles southwest of Mount Rushmore. I want to share a few pictures for those of you who are unfamiliar with this project or haven’t followed its progress recently. Monuments like Mount Rushmore contain images carved into a mountain, but this is the first time the dream of carving an entire mountain will become reality. The Crazy Horse Memorial, carved with dynamite, will be the largest work of art ever created by the hands of man. Not even the pharaohs of Egypt dreamt on this scale.
Korczak Ziolkowski, the sculptor responsible for the Memorial, assisted in the creation of Mount Rushmore. Ziolkowski a self-taught sculptor of Polish heritage, became interested in the plight of Native Americans early in life. Ziolkowski and Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear officially started Crazy Horse Memorial June 3, 1948. The Memorial’s mission is to honor the culture, tradition and living heritage of North American Indians.
Ziolkowski worked on the project until his death on October 20, 1982, at age 74. During his nearly 36 years of working on the mountain, he refused to take any salary. He knew he wouldn’t live to see this project completed, and when he died he left the project in the hands of his ten children, encouraging them to work slowly in order to do it right. The following pictures (borrowed from Google Images) show the immensity of this project. For more images and information on this amazing endeavor I encourage you to check out the Crazy Horse Memorial website.
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