Humorist Andy Borowitz quipped about tonight’s speech, “Shortest State of Union ever as Obama delivers two-word message to Congress.” We can guess what those two words might be. The National Rose Garden is an ongoing conceptual work by artist Kenneth Pietrobono. In this project, the national flower (the rose), is used to reflect the complex dynamics of the American landscape. With the lowest approval ratings in history, the National Rose Garden presents The Congressional Disapproval Rose as its next commemorative plate. Featuring a watercolor painting of the rose, the back of the plate includes a brief description and charts the yearly approval averages from 1974 when Gallup began polling for this question up to today. For each supporter of the project, one plate will be sent as a collectible to them and another will be sent directly to a representative of the 113th Congress. (That will be hung in a place of honor, no doubt.) The goal of the project is to bring attention to the disconnect between the public and its representative bodies and encourage thought on how to bridge this gap. If you’d like to donate to get one, go to Kickstarter here.
