Christian mentioned it would be covered by cspan, i got into an cripple panic. There is a tremendous sense of privilege one has when one is tasked with Something Like designing a congressional gold medal. A congressional gold medal is our nations form of highest esteem for distinguished individuals and also institutions and he goes back to nation. Ding of our so it is a very daunting process to take on such a role. It is a lot of hard work. But it also is incredibly gratifying especially when one gets a chance as i have and my lovely wife suzanne had yesterday to witness the recipients of the congressional gold medal and the ceremony which occurred yesterday for the monument. Is spinningy heart with the events of yesterday because that particular congressional gold medal combines so many stories. It combines the stories of world war ii. It combines the horror and the terror that hitler and his minions had visited upon europe and literally the world. It also involves heroic efforts that were up until very recently untold and unsung of Museum Curators and architects and restores and artists and sculptors and archivists who took it upon themselves, they were very comfortable lifestyles come a and had no need to be impressed pressed into service but in order to save the great Cultural Treasures of the world would like to limit risk and two were lost and saved great treasures for posterity. I apologize, this is originally going to be the final piece of my morning narrative that we had just returned from this very moving ceremony so as i say, it is filling my mind and my heart right now. Or slide presentation sounds very formal but in reality, when i took a look at the seven or so congressional gold medals i intend to speak to you about this afternoon, i realize that each and every story was so complex and had such an elaborate content and such connection to so much history that would be impossible within the small amount of time we have this afternoon allowing for some questions and answers at the end to get into too much detail about each and every one. With that my disclaimer is that i will show you the images and hopefully if i have done my job properly, those images will speak for themselves to some extent and i will have a very informal running commentary with accountingeryone some of the things that i remember that might be important and hopefully informative. Cowansteresting, david introduction mentioned general George Washington, he was the first recipient of the congressional gold medal. As we knowegislation takes a great deal of time. We have to be very patient before anything becomes a law. In the case of these to get passed by both bodies of congress and signed by the president and then there is the entire process of creating the congressional gold medal which is in the purview of the agency of the mint which is part of the treasury and here i stand before at the corner of wall street and Alexandra Alexander hamiltons bank, not many footsteps from Trinity Church where alexander hamilton, the first secretary of the treasury is interred. None of this is lost on me. Taking this time. What is also not lost is this tradition, this lineage, this connectivity. This exercise in looking at these congressional gold medals with you, and artists perspective. And is a very amorphous relative term. It is my perspective, the perspective changes with each and entry every individuals vantage point. But one of my perspectives and one of the things that i take amy much to heart when i invited to submit a candidate for Something Like a congressional gold medal or for any coin that bears an image of a medic of the United States of america, it is pretty daunting stuff. To the early days of our nation when the story goes that martha and George Washington gave up their silverware, things were pretty sketchy back in the revolution and there are stories, some are corroborated and some are not that they gave their own silverware to help create the bullion for our nations coinage eruditeourse there are scholars who know much better the that is set on coins and medals carries mankind s highest ideals. It carries images of exploits byt are quite extraordinary very distinguished, powerful, creative individuals. So it is very inspiring and there you see i just put together some of our great whoders, great visionaries put together this american experiment and i have always been a great fan of, a great admirer of Abraham Lincoln and i think like most of us, have a very Close Association to him because he comes out of the fabric of our society whereas a young fellow going up in school, George Washington always seemed so patrician and tinged with so much of great britain. Both in comportment and clothing and manner but as i learned more and more about washington, i was deeply impressed by what character and vision he showed, what restraint, and it really set an incredibly power precedent for what we call america, what we call the United States of america. We are really unique. We are truly unique and morerdays events are one are we losing the mic . I will wait a second. Not only did i am i impletely off my notes but doubt if i will remember the thread of what i was just saying. I was talking about George Washington and i was talking about the fact that the i wouldt he set for have to say the ethical precedent is so overwhelming contemplate the events of yesterday. Where the only nation who returned and repatriated what would be spoils of war, the great art and treasure of europe. Only toriated that not their rightful owners, we soually included germany there is a great deal of history and lineage that is not lost on me. Hamilton approved coinage that back in that day, the revolutionary era. It is something that must be ratified by both bodies of congress. Once it is, it is up to the executive branch and the president of the United States signs it into being, into the law of the land, just as George Washington did back in those days. One thing i did want to parenthetically insert about washington in terms of visionary, what a visionary he was, was that he insisted to others that his image not be used on the new coinage for our nation. And that is a very wise and powerful concept. Because he insisted that if you put visage on our coinage, you will make me a sovereign. And in this new land, this new experiment, it is the people who are sovereign. That still functions today. It sometimes gets wild and woolly, and in an election cycle like we have, it is not always pretty. But the precepts the founders laid down are alive and well. I can tell you as an american citizen, a plain, regular guy without many connections, that the system of meritocracy is still alive. And without any special connections or insider advantages, i know personally that my art worked because of it hitting the mark at certain points. It gets to be part of our nations history and heritage itself, which is very, very daunting for me. I will not bother with some of the verbiage. But basically, i was trying to talk about the process, which i think i alluded to. There is a tremendous lineage to it. It goes on today. Todays secretary lew, like alexander hamilton, must sign any coinage into eternal life. Sorry, i will go back. I will go back one more last time for a second. And i just want to also parenthetically mention that i have also, besides having the great honor and privilege to work for the United States mint and take on these incredibly inspiring assignments, that through the air force art program and through the national art program, i have had the occasion and the privilege to travel with the United States air force to many different venues. And i have gotten the privilege of spending time down at nasa, and getting witness to a city of experts committed to incredible feats. And witnessed a couple of launches of space shuttles. Everything is connected, is part of my perspective. I think that forms a lot of what i have done for the United States mint. The very first congressional gold medal that was ever accepted was for the Womens Air Force Service Pilots. And very often, by the way, another great thing about our nation is that we may not show gratitude to our men and women in uniform, or those who have done Great Service and achieved great things for humanity, but after 60 or 70 years, we come around and we give credit where it is due. These women, these women, they flew marauders, which were nicknamed widowmakers. The male pilots who they were standing in for so they can be assigned to combat duty, they were afraid because it was nicknamed the widowmaker. These women, 25 of the wives of Womens Air Force Service Pilots were hand selected by jackie cochran. And they flew these b26 planes and loved every minute of it. They were an Incredible Group of ladies that my wife and i got to meet when the congressional gold medal was bestowed upon them back in 2009. That is my drawing. In terms of process, it is a pencil drawing. It is not just one pencil drawing. I might go through 45 different versions before i get it right. And before a very elaborate process that vets the design, until it has gotten right enough to be part of a design portfolio that makes it through the internal vetting process of the mint, which is quite complex, historical accuracy, manufacturability. Then it goes to Erudite National review boards to make recommendations. And the process is not over until the secretary of the state secretary of the treasury, pardon me, i have been watching too many congressional hearings, the secretary of the treasury signs it into being. Then, there is the process that i will not go into, of sculpting the medal. We have, i am part of a group called the artistic infusion program, which began in 2003 by henrietta ford, a visionary woman in her own right who wanted to democratize processing and printing the artistcitizen into the process of invigorating the imagery on our coins and medals. This was sculpted by cb hensel. A group that also submit design she is part of a team of sculptors in philadelphia, worldclass sculptors and engravers who also submit design , twodimension candidates for consideration. I call her the donatello of philly. This is just another shot of my iphone. When you shoot a threedimensional basrelief, very often, the lighting is very telling of a different story. This is just a shot of what a congressional Gold Medal Ceremony looks like, when it is given to, you know, a group such as the womans air force service pilots. Incidentally, another thing that is not lost on me is that, in this day and age, also very edifying and wonderful, to see both sides of Congress Meet in perfect agreement over a perfectly welldeserved honor. And it just does your heart good as american to see the leadership of congress recognizing these heroes, these people of great distinction, who have done great deeds and paid great sacrifices. And also does not hurt to see them ohhing and ahhing over my work. [laughter] i cannot help that. [laughter] i cannot help that. The woman in the middle there is jeannie parish. She accepted it on behalf of the entire community. All the medals i have done, the groups are recipients. They are collectively bestowed. The second congressional gold medal which was for soldiers of world war ii, this is an interesting and also very nuanced story. The backdrop was the attack of pearl harbor. And fdr at the time saw fit under the circumstances to, with an executive order, incarcerate and inter people of japanese descent. He also simultaneously gave a second executive order, closer to his believes. That no one should be judged on their citizenship or their american identity by race or color. So against this backdrop of racial injustice, where there are family and friends incarcerated in internment camps, these men served in the mountains and save the lost battalion at great cost, at great cost. And incidentally, they served with more military distinction and recognition than any unit in American Military history. This is the honoring the 442nd regimental combat team. The 100th Infantry Battalion and the military intelligence service. That is why there are only three stars appearing, indicating and the medically, the three branches. Those are subtleties that go into the thought process. Incidentally, in terms of the thought process, before i ever left a pencil up, if im doing my job correctly, especially since my narratives, the task orders that come to us come with an attachment, and the attachment determines what is needed in terms of the design, it is the congressional law that has been passed. And so that is the essence. I want to do my first research, i read congressional findings. Why these people . They enumerate sometimes 28 different items why the soldiers are deserving of congressional gold medals . Literally, our highest civilian award. Theyve been given to many individuals, by the way. This is the closest ive ever gotten to doing a congressional gold medal design for an individual. Most of them are group recipients. And in a sense, these men were group recipients. But it was a combined effort here, honoring john glenn, the First American to orbit the earth. And neil armstrong, michael collins, buzz aldrin, they represented the apollo 11 mission which landed the first earthling on another planetary body on our lunar surface. I was around. I saw this on black and white tv. I was in San Francisco somewhere. And it was an indelible moment for human history. As a matter of fact, as i was sitting in daves office, he was showing me the certificates of George Washington and howard hughes, being congressional gold medal recipients, what a strange, interesting juxtaposition. He said, you know, this is really cool. I told david in his office, you know, the speaker of the house, john boehner, whose last congressional Gold Medal Ceremony was yesterday, in the rotunda of the capital, in the rotunda of the capital, it is the only congressional gold ceremony i attended in the inner sanctum of our office. And George Washington was going to be interred there, like napoleon. Other circumstances prevailed. In the rotunda of the capital, the speaker of the house came to the podium and said, ok, i will say what everybody in the room and there were quite a number of people in the room, including scott kelly who is now in orbit and the space station this is pretty cool. It was really true. It was really true because there is almost no other way to describe, you know, these kinds of exploits, these kinds of feats. They defied imagination. So basically, this is the congressional gold medal. My drawing. Again, this is phoebe temples incredible sculpting. And this is the reverse. Incidentally, artistically, it is supposed to be an artist. Between you and me and anyone else who might be listening in, i love art. I have loved art all my life. When the Monuments Men were honored yesterday, it was incredible to witness that. Art is our crowning, our crowning legacy. It is communication of who we are as human beings. And our creativity, it is a repository of all we are. But i believe what Duke Ellington said, there is no labeling. There is no, no formula one size does not fit all. And when i was tearing my hair out, trying to figure out what to do for the reverse, i was playing around with a lot of different elements. But i was really very excited about the fact that since i was working in the round, as you do with coinage, the rectilinear rules of composition are thrown out the window. Just as the experience of orbiting the earth, orbiting the moon, throws one out of our usual ways of reckoning our own identity and our place in it. It is all thrown into complete flux. So i wanted to achieve a sense of vertigo, almost read with this design, i wanted to achieve a sense that there is no orienting point. There is no north and south. It is not a rectilinear, twodimensional, it is threedimensional it is all in motion. The reverse of the sculpt was done by the lead of the mint, don everhart. Here is a little inside baseball. He called me up on the phone. He said im working on the clay for the reverse of the new frontier. Joel, is the sea of tranquility what you indicated with the lunar surface . I said no, don. Because i had to portray the lunar module in such a way, it would have been inaccurate to show the actual landing site of the eagle the sea of tranquility. It is just a lot of lunar craters that i think look really lunar in texture. I said, have fun with that. Just make it look like the moon, and contrast to the earth. Not many people, i will never repeat that. Ok, so i have to go back to this. This is a photograph, let us use that one. Again, in the rotunda of the capital, where John Trumbulls murals, one of which was the resignation of George Washington, general washington, which trumbull called when the greatest moral lessons of history, which it was, there before we all left, someone took a snap of me between the obverse and reverse. And behind me are John Trumbulls murals. Incidentally, he laid down his brush to be George Washingtons aide to camp. Everything is connected. And a great story i have to quickly tell you. About this medal, as i was getting ready to leave the rotunda, i was over the moon. Pun intended. Don everhart, he said, joel, are you going to the after event . Where nasa and families of the astronauts and the caucus room . I said i dont know anything about that. But a congressional aide to said please follow me. You want to go . I had a call of the United States mint. I was good to meet those folks for lunch. I said, im going to stay with don and see the ostrogoths at an after of them see the astronauts at and after event. There is a gentleman sitting here, adam, it was not enough that when i followed don and to that caucus room, i got to shake everyones hand. I got to shake the hand of neil armstrong. I had a conversation about his remarks in the rotunda, which were soaring. Again, pun intended. I went over to john glenn. And at one point, i told him something that is a wonderful story i have to tell you. Talk about cool. When i first got the assignment, as a layman, my first question was, how will i portray friendship 7 . How to get inserted into orbit . What was his position, east to west around the globe . West to east . Against the, you know, rotation of the earth on its axis . I did not know anything about it. Even though i have spent time at nasa, this was long before i visited them. I got to go over to john glenn and i shook his hand. I said, senator glenn, i must tell you that when i was trying to get the representation of friendship 7 correctly on the medal, i came across the archives a kind of crummy pdf document from the manned space center. On page 132 or something there was some they call a pilots flight report. I felt like i found, you know, the holy grail. And john glenn, perfectly and matter of fact ease, he recounts the most hairraising various you could possibly imagine. I did not i want to move this along. I was going to read to you. But i want to get to the questionandanswer period. While i was standing there telling him, a woman who was kind of in charge of things wanted to move the senator over to a photo op. And john glenn said, hold on. I am speaking to the man who designed the medal. And it was for me, and out of body experience. Because it was a page out of tom wolfe. Where the astronauts went up against the nasa brass and scientists, look, we are not going to be put in a capsule. That is a spacecraft. And we want a window for orientation. We want a control stick, we are not monkeys. We are not dogs, spam in a can. We are pilots. And as john glenn and the mercury astronauts did not get their way, john glenn would not have had a window. He would not have had a control stick. He would not have been able to manually adjust reentry, so he would avoid he would be burnt to a crisp. The mission would fail. We wouldve lost john glenn. These are some the back stories that go through my mind when im designing. Incidentally, i got to meet john glenn again because of adam, who is here today. Who was trying to garner enough support for legislation for the Ohio National heritage site. He is making good progress. There is good reason for it. There is a terminus amount of individuals who have been part of nasas Space Program as astronauts. They also spawned about six or seven u. S. President. And they love politics. I am going to go kind of quickly here. Again, each and every one of these has a compelling story. They are very complex. Back in 2000, there was congressional legislation that was signed into being to recognize the navajo in 2000. And they received their congressional gold medal, finally. It is specific to the european theaters where they saved many soldiers. They created many u. S. Victories. Because their code was unbroken, the professional decoders of the japanese and germans could not penetrate this language. And so, in 2008, Congress Said there were many other tribes that also been treated to the war effort. This one was my first congressional gold medal for the seminal code talkers. A little artistic, parenthetical consideration, if you look at the border, that is a seminole border. It means fluidity, communication. These kind of subtleties might be lost on some. But while youre putting this together, it is very important. It is very important, by the way, when these medals reach the recipient, when they recognize you have done your homework and you are trying to honor them accurately, they are very appreciative. And that is the pot of gold and the end of the rainbow for me, when i see the recipients say that the work rings true. The second one was the apache tribe. This is a much more active scenario, running into fire which is what these men did. They provided cover with their indecipherable codes. The hopi code talkers. Incidentally, i have to go back for a second. This was sculpted by joseph menna. By the way, all of the engravers in philadelphia are all classically trained. They are very much under song sometimes. But they are worldclass sculptors. Every time, i get a wonderful feeling when i see them bringing my twodimensional linear concepts to new heights. Pun intended, again. The hopi code talkers, b54 flying above. Sculpted by don everhart. And the tribe, in the background kind of faded, is the highly regarded chief white eagle. Sculpted by Phoebe Hemphill. Here is where some of my experiences traveling with the air force kind of paid off in terms of, you know, believability. The 50th anniversary of war war two, we went literally around the world to visit china, india, burma theater. We were in hawaii. I saw the marks at Hickam Air Force base. I visited the arizona. These things become powerful. When you have direct contact, as opposed to indirect contact, it is want to play a role in how you interpret this. It will mean so much more. Being in guam, being in india, being across the himalayas, we went to china. And i also went to normandy with the air force, i also went down to fort bragg and saw the green berets, our special ops graduating from their training, from the rigorous training. And i also did a private sector painting, who parachuted into what was really a Suicide Mission to obscure bridges and normandy. Actually, it was an incredibly important factor in the success of freeing the peninsula from hitlers minions. The First Special Service Forces were the only combined u. S. And Canadian Military unit. And they made silent landings, which is indicated by my vignette. And they climbed mountains at incredible altitudes in the most rigorous conditions. They lost many. But they were quite a group of men to encounter, when i got to see them get their congressional gold medal back in february of last year. The sculpt was by joe menna. The reverse was done by a fellow, a. I. Peer. An artist, she is a program artist. That was the first, this is the lead of the infantry. So the arrow had to be a part of the infantry. Another piece of inside baseball. There was a commander for the men revered like napoleon. He was first in, always. And when he was relieved of his duty, these tough guys they made john wayne look like a wimp they broke down in tears. They broke down in tears. And i actually, i put fredericks portrait in the medal. He like my friend gary stern, who is here today. It is a medal given collectively. It was not going to fly. Ok, i will talk very little about this treated it is so meaningful. Here we are, not far from the Trinity Church where hamilton is interred. Where the events of that black day, that horrible, terrible, unimaginable day. What do you do if youre a narrative artist . If youre a narrative artist with a figurative background who likes to tell stories . With the background as an illustrator . What do you do . One size for congressional gold medals, theyre not like the medal of freedom or the National Arts metal, they are beautiful thing. Each one was individually crafted and struck specifically for the recipient. Each story is different. What would one do, what would you do for this story . When i came up, as best as i can describe to you, abstract lines it is a conceptual piece. I wasnt about to make this literal. Literally, it was too horrifying to contemplate doing anything literally or figuratively. I will go into my art, theories, i would just tell you what my thinking was. Really, my design is thinking with a pencil in your hand. So my thinking was, if i make lines going up, that could counteract the horrible and unimaginable loss of the lines going down. They can also figure the towers we lost, indicative or diplomatic of the towers themselves. Our world was turned upside down a day, inverted. Im sure everyone feels the same way. That it was unimaginable, sciencefictionlike horror. But it was real. I got a chance to visit the site, once on my own, is because i had to go. Then through the mint, they were striking a national medal. Then i visited the memorial as a construction site. Then again when the congressional gold medals were about to be struck, i went to new york. One for shanksville, pennsylvania. One for the pentagon. I visited, with the kindness of the u. S. Mint. But i learned by that direct encounter that the names on the parapet around the reflecting pools, the names more than 2000, i forget the exact number, forgive me the complexity of trying to arrange names in a respectful way, besides being a museum it is a memorial site, and to be respectful, they had to hire elite algorithm specialists to put together the names of everyone from all the flights involved, from 1983 to 9 11. There were married couples in different towers. There were gay couples with different surnames. The complexity and care that was taken was very impressive to me. And another thing, the reason why i hope that little shows the spray from the Falling Water that is indicating the great loss the people at the 9 11 memorial at logistics problem. Because with so many gone in the calendar year, there is an average of 16 birthdays and other anniversaries. And people would come with flowers, it would be a logistics problem with mementos and flowers, tacked up on the fence at a church during the event. They took it upon themselves for every birthday, for every occasion to put a flower in the name these names are engraved into the wall like a gravestone. And in designspeak, the legend or the inscription, which is always in the sky, it is the same indicated in my drawing as remember. Meaning it is raised. And when i found out that i was selected, i called up don everhart. Don, do me a favor. If we are going to do this right, let us engrave remember into the stone. And the other part of that is of course, the numbers you can well imagine. When you design in the round, it is very different than designing rectorlinearly. There are different rules you break as an artist. Again, this is a conceptual and somatic piece. I placed them very carefully as if the round face of this medal were an analog clock. The first flight that hit at 8 21, all the flights are positioned 77, 93 exactly at the times the souls met their fate. It was a very emotional medal. I am very proud of it, as well. The sculpt was done by jim, inside baseball again, the lines were very difficult he told me, to get them raised and to get them to have integrity. It went through a lot of technical ups and downs to achieve this sculpt. And that medal, most medals, congressional gold medals, our housed at the smithsonian institution. But sometimes, at the end of the law, it does say that the sense of congress, the metal can travel on exhibition to be later return. In the case of the soldiers of world war ii, it troubled to six asian museums including the world war ii museum. It is now part of the Permanent Collection at the smithsonian, part of the price of freedom. The american fighters, served in every theater of war, they served in world war i, they served in world war ii, they served in korea. And they served in vietnam. And each branch of service is represented. And to meet those gentlemen when they receive their congressional gold medal, Phoebe Hemphill again. I put in a couple of different versions to show the lighting, some show the portraiture better than others. Don everhart did a spectacular reverse with the four crafts that are associated with these gentlemen. Not only the wings, aviator wings, in the center of those wings, showing the global reach of their efforts. And above them is an ace of spades. Which goes way back before world war i, associated with aviators all the way back to larry owens. This is my own shot with my iphone. I just like that the lighting showed phoebes interpretation. This is the last slide. This is what i was talking about at the outset. Where we got to witness the Monuments Men receiving their congressional gold medal. There were four, six surviving today. Four were present yesterday, including harry from new jersey. Who as a boy in germany, fled with his family to america, weeks before kristallnacht. In a 19yearold new jersey lad joined the Monuments Men. And his job, his mission was to go to the salt mines and save the altarpiece. The astronomer, which have put that in because it was not just artworks and sculpture, it was all of civilizations precious heritage. Manuscripts, voltaire, they were taking everything. I got his big hairy, after he talked to the german press. The salt mines, they were pristine. This was chilling to me. They were clean and perfect. He said they were atmospherically controlled to protect the work. To protect from what . To protect from the face of pure evil. And in the face appear evil, what makes you feel so honored and privileged to be an american, and as american to get to tell some of these stirring stories, is that in our darkest and worst days like 9 11, which reminds us of what it must have been like at pearl harbor, what unimaginable horror and blackness of the holocaust, it also brings out the very finest of what human beings are capable of. That is what the congressional gold medal is really all about. It is been my privilege to be tasked with telling some of these stories. And it is my privilege to spend this time with you this afternoon, to tell you a little bit about my perspective. Thank you so much. [applause] she will kill me, she is such a private person, my beautiful wife is smiling. Things are good. I know i came very close, there is no time for a q and a, but we can sneak one in. Yes . These are the notes i paid no attention to. Ive been making them for days now. Im glad i didnt. Yes . I noticed that in the first three metals, you have figures coming out of the boundaries, either stepping above the head above the inner boundary, and i was wondering if that was deliberate on your part to say that people are breaking barriers . Absolutely. Im glad you mentioned that. Not only are the women on the tarmac, the womens air force pilots walking out to us let me see if i can get back to there. That is very perceptive of you. The design aspect has to be tied the content. It has to contain a representation of something that youre trying to say. Is that what like that one. That ceremony in the bitter cold of 1944 meant great deals to these men. They were being complimented, they stayed in the mountains during the winter, that is iconic. But i thought you were referring, absolutely, i wanted them to break out break the third wall, come out to us, reach out to us. Absolutely. The same is true of the m1s. It is a convention. Art is really, the cost said it very well. As i said earlier, i love art. Everything about art. Im very fortunate because i get to represent something so meaningful. Sometimes art gets a little filled with itself. Weather you wanted to or not, art is going to represent something. But yes, absolutely, it is meant to emphasize that i thought you were actually talking about, yes . They are breaking the surface. They really broke barriers for women of military pilots. It was breaking barriers. I also have the breaking through, and they love flying. By the way, a little inside. I worked very long and hard hours trying to find the right generic, going a long way, the right generic indication of what a woman would be like. And these women were not only heroic enrages, they did lose anything about being feminine. The women in the uniforms, they still looked beautiful at the ceremony. Their hair was done. Wonderful woman. They broke barriers, yes. Did you have a question . Someone . Persons vantage point. Can you give us an image of if they supplies you or where do some of the images how are you coming up with those images . Do we have see, another couple of hours . A very complex scenario. The first place i usually head if i can is a site. Myit is anywhere within physical ability to reach, even if it happened long ago, there will be vestiges, and there will be a trail. There will be people who remember. That is why traveling with the air force, going down to nasa, seeing alaunch like home run it is a different experience than any other media. That would be my first. My second is the library of Congress National archives, things that are in the public domain. Own photography, use models, mix and match. I love what George Balanchine said. He was interviewed once, and the interviewer asked what it was like to be a creator of this work, and he stopped the interviewer and said, creator . Im not a creator. I take a bit here and there. I related to that. We take from many different recreate a brandnew image. National archives, library of congress, my own photography, and live models to upulate poses that wind being the final pose. Im sorry. [indiscernible] would you describe the back of the 9 11 metal medal . You did not show us the back. You only showed us one side. Im sorry. Thats my own mission. You are absolutely right. The back is a common reverse with different inscriptions. I mean, the imagery is a common reverse. It is an american bald eagle. I do not have a picture right now, i apologize. And sculpted by phebe hemphill. It is position away from the viewer, three quarters, and yet, it is turning back as if to look in retrospect or an introspection, and then each site the new york metal reverse, the pentagon, and the shanksville, pennsylvania, Medal Reverse its have appropriate inscriptions. I could not tell you what they are right now, but that is what the reverse of all three is. [indiscernible] joel . If you go to the United States mint. Gov and go to the historical picture archives, it will have all of the congressional gold medals, and you will be able to enlarge them and see them very clearly, and they will have descriptions that are probably a lot more accurate than mine. Yes, david . David is the actual gold in the gold medals, and how many are struck . Joel thats a great softball question. Thank you. Yes, it is all solid gold. I am beyond my pay scale in talking about this, but from what i know and i stand to be corrected i do know it is solid gold. There is one gold medal struck, which as i said before, lines up in the smithsonian, unless in the letter of the law, the findings of Congress Also say that it can travel to associate for appropriate venues such as i believe the middle for the First Special Service Forces spent some time of in canada thelieve the medal for First Special Service Forces spent some time up in canada. Most to my knowledge wind up back in the smithsonian, but not all. I think the 9 11 metal medal for new yorks house here at the 9 11 museum. I have yet to see it. In somet is not collection. I hope it is on display somewhere, but there is one. About 30,000t is around wall street, so we can talk money. It is about 30,000 or so worth of gold. The beautiful thing about the is it is the only agency, i believe, that does not operate at a deficit. It never costs the taxpayer to create congressional gold meda ls. There given to recipients and also available for sale to the general public like you and i. I have to buy my i do not get free samples of bronze and certainly not gold. Yes . Your medals are done in detail, minute i dont know how long it takes you to complete one to your satisfaction. Much you amazed how put into it, how much time. Joel people are probably going to ask you how much i paid you to ask such a question. Thank you. One size does not fit all. Our lead sculptor had a wonderful post of an artist handing in a drawing to an art director. D the art director saying, why should i pay 2500 for this . You did that in 15 minutes, and the art director says, yes, but it took me a lifetime to be able to do it in 15 minutes. Thumb, theresof no general rule, but its usually months. Unless people say they really need it right away. For the United States meant, i awayshedly push everything because i feel so privileged to be able to contribute to such a fine team for the United States mint. By the way, when you go on the are site, youll see there 18 of us. These things are not commission. There is nobody sitting at the Treasury Department saying that joel is a great artist, so lets have him do the mohammed ali event. Does not work that way. The process is that it is an where eachrocedure and every program is a contest between the 18 very, very fine in the program and, as i said, the worldclass sculptor engravers also submit designs, many of which are minted. Sometimes theres a portfolio of 30 or 40 different designs to weed through and one is selected. The 12 engraver of the United States mint told me only the way he could. He kind of speaks in a wonderful accent that is accommodation of Robert Deniro in the first godfather and eliot ness. He said, you know what it feels like . Its like a rocket ship going off. I going to my nasa imagery. He was absolutely right. It does not ever get old because of that elaborate process and the nature of what you are doing. Is thes on saying this most important one ever. They are all important. [indiscernible] who designed sure it, but my guess would be it would be ace henchmen. Think of lafayette, from george myington called monfils, son. The men really hit it off. The congressional gold medal that George Washington was given, it was given to him by Thomas Jefferson 14 years after it was approved. It was struck in paris. I dont know who the designer and scope are engraver was, but struck inthat it was paris. Thats a great question. I would read in the smithsonian, or maybe in paris i dont know. I would bet in the smithsonian. Its in the boston public library. Thank you so much again. I want to thank you again for that goldmedal talk. [applause] with congress on holiday recess, the cspan Networks Feature a full lineup of prime time programming monday night at 8 00 p. M. Eastern, laura logan, sebastian younger, and other journalists who have risked their lives covering events in the middle east. Tuesday, celebrity activists speak out on a variety of issues. Wednesday night, events from the cspan archives featuring notable public figures who died in 2015. Thursday, a look back at the year in congress. Then friday night at 8 00, examining the prison system and its impact on minority communities. Eastern,ght at 8 00 30. 8 30 eastern, memoirs tuesday night at 8 00 features books on economics and the economy. Wednesday night, authors talk about their books on science and technology. Thursday at 8 00 p. M. , discussions on isis and terrorism. Several ofs day, our indepth programs from this year. And on American History tv, monday at 8 00 p. M. Eastern, the 70th anniversary of the liberation of auschwitz. Tuesday night at 8 00, a congressional error money on the. 50th anniversary whichdiscussion on president would be a better role model today. Thursday, road to the white house rewind. On new years day, linmanuel accepts the George Washington book price special achievement award. Thats some of the programs featured in prime time on the cspan networks. In this years christmas message, Queen Elizabeth focused on the sacrifice of soldiers serving overseas. The annual christmas message is a tradition that dates to 1932 when king george the fifth delivered his message over the radio. This is 10 minutes. [god save the queen] at this time of year, few sites devote more feelings of cheer and goodwill than a twinkling lights of a Christmas Tree. The popularity of a tree at christmas is due in part to my great, great grandparents, Queen Victoria and prince albert. After this touching picture was published, many families wanted a Christmas Tree of their own, and a custom soon spread. In 1949, i spent christmas as a newly married naval life. We have returned to that island over the years, including last month, for a meeting of commonwealth leaders. This year, i met another group of leaders, the queens young leaders, and inspirational group, each of them a symbol of hope in their own commonwealth communities. Gathering around the tree gives us a chance to think about the year ahead. I am looking forward to a busy 2016, though i have been warned, i may have happy birthdays unto me more than once or twice. It also allows us to reflect on the year that has passed. As we think of those who are far away or no longer with us. Many people say the first christmas after losing a loved one is particularly hard. But it is also a time to remember all that we have to be think of for. It is true that the world has had to confront moments of darkness this year, but the gospel of john contains a verse of great hope, often read at Christmas Carols services. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. One cause for thankfulness this summer was marking 70 years since the end of the second world war. On vj day, we honor the remaining veterans of that terrible, and in the far east, as well as remembering the thousands who never returned. The procession from Horse Guards Parade two was Minster Abbey mustve been one of the slowest ever because so many people wanted to say thank you to them. At the end of that war, the people of oslo began sending an annual gift of a Christmas Tree to trafalgar square. It has 500 light bulbs and is enjoyed not just by christians, but by people of all faiths and of none. At the very top sits a bright star to represent the star of bethlehem. The custom of topping a tree also goes back to prince alberts time. For his family street, he chose an angel, helping to remind us that the focus of the christmas story is on one particular family. For joseph and mary, the circumstances of jesuss birth in a stable were far from ideal. But worse was to come as the family was forced to flee the country. It is no prize that such a human story still captures our imagination and continues to inspire all of us who are christians the world over
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