Gozen Bogram

Gozen Bogram was born in 1867 to a Danish immigrant family in Idaho. His father was once a Mormon, first a wood carver, later a doctor, and had two wives. Gozen Bogram's mother was expelled from the family due to U.S. law's lack of legal status. His father never talked to him about this. In his early years, he went to Paris to study. He was influenced by the famous sculptor Auguste Rodin and wrote many famous sculptures.

The masterpiece of Mount Rushmore

The Mount Rushmore National Memorial stands in the Black Hills area not far west of Badlands in South Dakota. "Monument Sculpture to the Four Presidents of the United States" is also known as the "National Monument of the United States". The statue stands in the National Park at the Rasmore National Museum in Blackwater, South Dakota, USA. A 1800-meter-high Rasmore Peak, on which the giant heads of four famous presidents in American history are carved. From left to right, the four presidents are:

George Washington, the first president and founding father;

Thomas Jefferson, the third president and drafter of the Declaration of Independence;

Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President who laid the foundation of America in the 20th century

Abraham Lincoln, the leader of the emancipation of slaves and the 16th President.

These four giant heads are integrated with the mountain peak and are very spectacular. Visitors are all awe-inspiring when they come here. The face of the stone statue is 18 meters high, and the nose alone is 6 meters long. The Washington Statue is a bust with shoulders and chest cleverly carved along the mountain shape. The other three are all heads, but the portraits of Theodore Roosevelt and Lincoln have only their faces carved. The portraits of the four people are very prominent. Their expressions are all serious and solemn. Their closed lips and eyes gazing into the distance are vivid and vivid. At the same time, the four people each have their own characteristics, showing different personalities and characteristics, which can be described as lifelike and vivid.

This extraordinary masterpiece of art was created by the American artist Gutzon Borglum (1867-1941), a central figure in the Mount Rushmore project. In 1923, American historian Donne Robison first came up with the idea of carving a giant statue on the mountains. In the autumn of 1924, he invited Gozen Boglum to come and see the terrain. Gozen Bogram saw Mount Rushmore, made of granite, living on the mountains, bathed in the sun, and decided that this was the most ideal place for him to realize his long-cherished wish to carve and beautify the heads of four famous presidents.

It lasted for 14 years. The face of each statue is 18 meters high and the nose is 6 meters long. You must be viewed from a distance to appreciate the personality of the statue characters. Its production method uses directional blasting. Because the stone carving is carried out on the mountain, we can only use the power of explosives to blast the outline of the statue through directional blasting, and then carry out precise artistic processing to complete the carving of the personality characteristics of the statue. It is said that the entire carving project was carried out by means of telescope and radio remote control.

On August 10, 1927, President Calivin Coolidge announced the designation of Mount Rushmore as a national memorial site. At the same time, the sculpture project officially broke ground. At the beginning of the project, the funding was entirely based on private donations, and the federal government only later provided financial support. Due to lack of funds and harsh weather, the project was often interrupted, so the construction period lasted for fourteen years, but the actual construction was only six and a half years. When the project started, Gatson Bogram was already over sixty years old. From then on, he devoted all his own efforts to this masterpiece of art, and designed it nine times over its artistic modeling alone. Gatson Bogram passed away in 1941 and was unable to witness the completion of the project plan. His son Lincoln Bogram inherited his father's footsteps and barely completed the project at the end of 1941. The total cost of the project was US$1 million.

This project is a masterpiece in the history of American carving art and the largest group of stone statues in the world. It has become one of the seven major man-made wonders in the United States.

In order to show respect for the four presidents, Mount Rushmore is prohibited from climbing; there is a viewing center at the foot of the mountain. The sun fills the mountain in the morning and is the best time to admire the Colossus. From June to September every year, it is also equipped here. Lighting equipment allows you to truly appreciate this masterpiece of art even at night.