January 6 Revisited: Mark Yurkiw’s Capitol

In 2001, Mark Yurkiw was commissioned to create an egg sculpture. It would be part of the annual White House Easter Egg roll.

The Westport artist’s 4-foot tall egg — called “Re-birth of a Nation” –replicated the Capitol dome, in extraordinary detail. It was exhibited at the White House.

When The Egg was brought to the Senate chamber, it got 256 signatures. Then a senator announced he was switching parties. In the tumult that followed, Mark was whisked away.

“Re-birth of a Nation” (Mark Yurkiw)

Then came 9/11. The Egg was moved to a secure facility outside of Washington, because someone noticed it resembled the original H-bomb in size and shape.

“That was a shame,” Mark says, “because it was supposed to be aucitioned off at a White House breakfast for cancer research.”

The sculpture is now in Westport.

After January 6, 2021 Mark used Sacred Heart University’s $30,000 scanner to digitize his large egg, to 3D print iterations.

He created a tilted version with scaffolding, and called it “January 6,” to commemorate the catastrophic event.

“January 6” (Mark Yurkiw)

But Mark was hesitant to show the sculpture publicly. He did not want to throw fuel on the already blazing fire.

“I design ideas that can be interpreted from all sides of an issue, to stimulate discussion of difficult and differing opinions and ideas,” he says.

Now that January 6 is “in the history books to be judged,” he is ready to show it.

The large “Re-birth of a Nation” was first displayed in Westport at Mark’s “Words Matter” show in October 2019, at the Pop’t Art gallery he owned at the corner of Post Road East and Main Street.

The January 6 sculpture ws first exhibited at Bridgeport’s Knowlton Gallery this past October. It too now resides in Westport.

Mark Yurkiw, at home in Westport. (Photo/Tomoko Meth)

Because art is both timely and timeless, Jimmy Carter’s death got Mark thinking.

A year before he entered hospice care, the former president wrote his final New York Times opinion essay.

In it, he looked back on the January 6 Capitol riot, and explained why he was so worried about American democracy.

Carter’s fears did not come to pass. But Yurkiw wants the former president’s message — and his own, democratically inspired art — to be shared with the “06880” community.

One year ago, a violent mob, guided by unscrupulous politicians, stormed the Capitol and almost succeeded in preventing the democratic transfer of power. All four of us former presidents condemned their actions and affirmed the legitimacy of the 2020 election. There followed a brief hope that the insurrection would shock the nation into addressing the toxic polarization that threatens our democracy.

However, one year on, promoters of the lie that the election was stolen have taken over one political party and stoked distrust in our electoral systems. These forces exert power and influence through relentless disinformation, which continues to turn Americans against Americans. According to the Survey Center on American Life, 36 percent of Americans — almost 100 million adults across the political spectrum — agree that “the traditional American way of life is disappearing so fast that we may have to use force to save it.” The Washington Post recently reported that roughly 40 percent of Republicans believe that violent action against the government is sometimes justified.

Politicians in my home state of Georgia, as well as in others, such as Texas and Florida, have leveraged the distrust they have created to enact laws that empower partisan legislatures to intervene in election processes. They seek to win by any means, and many Americans are being persuaded to think and act likewise, threatening to collapse the foundations of our security and democracy with breathtaking speed. I now fear that what we have fought so hard to achieve globally — the right to free, fair elections, unhindered by strongman politicians who seek nothing more than to grow their own power — has become dangerously fragile at home.

(“06880” often covers art, and politcs — and occasionally, their intersection. There’s always a Westport angle. If you appreciate our work, please click here to support this blog. Thank you!)