Donald Trump asked the Smithsonian Institution to install a 30ft “Colossus statue” of George Washington outside the National Museum of American History, and a special exhibit honoring the nation’s first president, in a social media post late on Friday.

The president requested that the exhibit continue through February 2032, the 300th anniversary of Washington’s birth.

“He is easily America’s Greatest Hero. Without him, our Country and our Freedoms wouldn’t exist,” Trump posted on Truth Social as he flew to his golf course in Ireland.

The statue of Washington would replace the current Infinity sculpture by New York artist José de Rivera, commissioned by the federal government and installed in 1967.

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[–] 10 points 20 hours ago*

In case you were thinking he's being vindictive about the subject of the sculpture or its artist, it's just a garden-variety abstract sculpture, and José de Rivera is just some artist from Baton Rouge, Louisiana

the infinity sculpture

José de Rivera’s Infinity seems almost impossible - the thin stainless steel ribbon rotates on top of its granite pedestal with total stability. Standing at 13½ feet tall, the delicate balancing act is one that repeats every 6 minutes as the ribbon completes its revolution. The ribbon’s design as a mobius strip (a surface with one continuous side formed by joining its ends after twisting one side 180°) creates an infinite loop, allowing it to rotate without interruption. Completed in 1967 and facing the National Mall, the intriguing sculpture has since attracted the attention of visitors to the National Museum of American History. The sculpture, the first abstract work commissioned by the federal government in DC, represents time and technology, with the stainless steel ribbon symbolizing the continuous movement of both. The sculpture was fitting, for at the time of its unveiling, the National Museum of American History was named the National Museum of History and Technology.

via the DC Preservation League

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