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A Facepalming Lincoln Took Home the Grand Prize at This Year's Texas SandFest

By Kelly Nelson on Fri, May 24, 2019 at 11:13 am

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A Facepalming Lincoln Took Home the Grand Prize at This Year's Texas SandFest (2)

Photo by Kastle Kelly / Texas Sandfest via Facebook / TexasSandFest

The annual Texas SandFest draws thousands of visitors to Port Aransas for a weekend that celebrates the transitory art form of sand sculpture. And this year, spectators got a potent political statement as part of their pilgrimage.

Canadian Master Sculptor Damon Langlois — purportedly known to some by his superhero alter-ego "SandyMan" — crafted this year's winner, entitled "Liberty is Crumbling." A clear indictment of the current United States administration, Langlois' sculpture puts a twist on the Lincoln Memorial, portraying our 16th president slouching with his head in his hands while his marble seat disintegrates beneath him.

click to enlarge

A Facepalming Lincoln Took Home the Grand Prize at This Year's Texas SandFest (3)

Photo by Texas Sandfest via Instagram / texas_sandfest

According to SandFest's Master Sculptor Coordinator Suzanne Altamare, "sculptures are judged on originality, degree of difficulty, proper proportions, cleanliness of finished surfaces and the WOW factor," and Langlois' lifelike rendering of an exasperated Lincoln clearly hit a nerve.

By now, Langlois' Lincoln is of course long gone, but we'll likely see a bevy of political sculptures for 2020's election year SandFest.

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