Crazy Horse Memorial

The Crazy Horse Memorial

What is The Context?

Crazy Horse was a Lakota Indian that was celebrated for his ferocity in battle and as a visionary leader in preserving his people's way of life. At the age of thirteen he was stealing Crow horse from another tribe and led in a battle before he was even twenty. The Crazy Horse Memorial sculpture is located in the Black Hills. The mountain that this art has been carved into is 6,532ft and is ranked that 27th highest mountain in South Dakota. This was created to preserve the culture, tradition and living heritage of the North American Indians. The Oglala Lakota chief Mato Naji commissioned sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski to build the Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Mato Naji said, “My fellow chiefs and I would like the white man to know the red man has great heros, too”.  Korczak alone started the construction of the enormous monument and continued his work on the monument until he died of acute pancreatitis at age 74 at the monument site in 1982. His ten children continued the construction of the monuments. The Construction is still continuing today with the help of hired workers and the children running off of visitor donations.

What is the artist communicating and How?

In this large sculpture, Korczak, hired by Oglala, began the construction of this sculptor in order for white Americans to realize the importance of the Native Americans and how they had heroes too. Early Americans took over the Indian lands and treated them unfairly and poorly. They have been forced onto reservations today and many are really struggling and very poor. They wanted to remember Crazy Horse who was one of the strongest warriors against early white men who fought selflessly for his people and his land. Even today, many Americans look down on the Native Americans that we treated so poorly and most people forget about them. Thousands of Americans visit the Mount Rushmore monument of the president's every year. Close by, the construction of the larger sculpture of Crazy Horse continues to be built. This sculpture tries to communicate to the audience the importance of the Native Americans. The sculpture tells the story of how the Native Americans land was taken away in a cruel unfair way by the early American immigrants. It criticizes the way that they were treated in the past and demonstrates that they are still present and strong. It stirs emotions in most visitors as they remember what we did to the Native Americans and gather an understanding of what we did to them that they might not have understood previous to their visit. Two themes that are displayed in this sculpture are History and Strength. History is demonstrated by the location and person chosen for this sculpture. Strength is demonstrated by the size and details of the sculpture.

Why do I Find This Beautiful?

I think that this structure demonstrates a sad history that most Americans avoid thinking about. I think that the history that we had with the Native Americans is shameful. I think that it is great that we have been able to begin the construction of the Crazy Horse Memorial as a reminder of the great people that were unjustly killed. I believe that the Native Americans deserve a lot more than this memorial, but I still think that it is a step in the right direction. This sculpture strikes me with its size and history. I agree strongly with the ideas that it is communicating that the Native Americans deserve recognition for their heros. I think that this is good art because of the clear talent and skill and beauty that is physically amazing about it. But more importantly, I find it beautiful in how it has a deeper meaning than some random sculpture. I think that Crazy Horse was an excellent choice for the memorial. I think that the pose that they chose gives a view of great strength, pride, and dignity to the Native American people. I think that when this sculpture is completed, which I will most likely not live to see, I think it is going to be amazing and even more beautiful.