Public Project
The People's House
From under the Capitol dome comes our laws, our culture clashes, our history, and our future as a nation. The lofty philosophical and jurisprudential ideas of self-government, free speech, equality under the law occasionally manifest around the Capitol as protests and rallies.
As I walk the streets of D.C. photographing I keep thinking of Katsushika Hokusai’s series of woodcuts, Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji. In Hokusai's vision the sacred mountain is eternal and indifferent to the world of people. The Capitol, as a physical presence, feels as indifferent as Mt. Fuji. Because the Capitol is a human construction we imbue it with layers of meaning. It’s a symbol of freedom built, to a large extent, by slaves. It’s a hallowed place that’s found on t-shirts, key-chains, and hats in every tchotchke shop in D.C. From reverence to scorn the deeper meanings of the Capitol are what we project on to it.
The U.S. Capitol Building is what it needs to be, for everyone.
8,756
