If you ever want to see a great human endeavor in progress you need to see the Crazy Horse Memorial while in the Black Hills area in South Dakota. It is the worlds largest mountain carving and far from being finished. The first rocks were taken off by a blast in 1948 and millions of tons have been removed since. Oglala Lakota leader Crazy Horse has been chosen by the Indians for this sculpture and sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski (1908-1982) accepted the invitation by Indian chiefs to carve a mountain. Realizing that this project would span several generations Korczak and his wife set in place various forms of guidance, plans, scale models of the sculpture, and the Crazy Horse Foundation. Today six of their children and some grandchildren carry on the family legacy. The memorial is strictly funded without state or federal funds. (source: Crazy Horse Memorial visitor brochure 2015) For those who like to read more about it: https://crazyhorsememorial.org
The photo was made at the visitor center and shows a 1/34th scale model on the left and the sculpture in the distance. To give you a better idea about the dimensions, the four heads of Mount Rushmore Memorial would fit completely into the area of Crazy Horse’s head dress!
I have been familiar with Tashunke Witco (Crazy Horse) and his role in history through several books I read in my younger years. He was a great leader of his people. After I learned about this memorial I wanted to see it sometime in my life. I admire the artistic vision of Korczak Ziolkowski and as an engineer have a deep respect for the logistics of this ongoing project.