El Gallo No. 2 Variable Edition 2/5
El Gallo No. 2 Variable Edition 2/5
S.C. James, June 2026
El Gallo symbolizes courage, vigilance, masculinity, and the dawn of a new day. Here, he’s satire aimed at our present political system — leaders too afraid to do right by the country, but quick to boast about how hard they’re working for the American people. Think Foghorn Leghorn: all crow, no follow-through. I swapped the Bald Eagle and its E Pluribus Unum banner for the rooster because he felt right for the moment — a bird that can crow endlessly about nothing, hoping the noise drowns out the ineptitude underneath.
The barely legible copper text names the pillars of our democracy, diluted and devalued to the point they feel as obsolete as the penny we’ve just discarded:
- Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances
- The Rule of Law
- Citizen Participation
- Fundamental Rights and Civil Liberties
- The U.S. Constitution and Limited Government
- Free, Fair, and Competitive Elections
- A Free and Independent Press
Image size: 9 x 12 in, on 100% cotton rag heavyweight paper
8-color screen print, gesso, acrylic, oil-based colored pencil, and watercolor
Image size: 9 x 12 in, on 100% cotton rag heavyweight paper
8-color screen print, gesso, acrylic, oil-based colored pencil, and watercolor