Lebron James is a hero for our times, not only for Ohio, but also for the world, and completely embodies and epitomizes everything that is both my American dream and the idea of an American Dream in general. He is a great man, and not only one of the best basketball players of all time, but I believe what makes him such a champion is that he is thinking of the bigger picture—what it is to be a leader, a model, an inspired icon for generations, who truly wants to not only break the Cleveland curse for Ohio, but to achieve success for his fellow human beings and world, and show that with belief and passion, dedication and love, you can achieve anything.

Hitchcock came up with the phrase of a “MacGuffin” to portray the vehicle that some-times a plot in a film ensues—the catalyst for stringing a cosmology of characters and ideas and scenes together to keep the viewer interested in the story. The Maltese Falcon is not really about the sculpture of the title, but really an excuse to meet the people, world, and ideas that surround it, while keeping the viewer involved in the story. As a more than a decade ongoing, Leaves of Grass-like body of work (Walt Whitman continued to add and edit this series of American poems throughout his life), I want to bring pertinence to My American Dream in populist ways that people in different regions can relate to, while also building on the notions of what my “American Dream” might be. Lebron James is certainly important to my narrative as the person he is and the history he has winningly portrayed, and I hope he could be a narrative thread that Cleveland audiences might appreciate.

I love photos of historic events, where the world changes, and culturally, whether it be Beatles changing cultural history on the Ed Sullivan show, or here, where LeBron is achieving breaking the curse and showing the world what can be achieved through hard work, never giving up on your dreams, and becoming the best, hopefully I’ve captured a moment that will live on in infamy. Key to me was when painting The Block I realized that Lebron is playing for a higher purpose, and felt as if he was Michelangelo’s David, his hand reaching towards heaven. Listening to his podcasts (in addition to the music he loved growing up, audiobooks about him, and of course, watching his games!) he mentioned he also really appreciated classical music and Mozart, and at the end of this work, as with the end of all these works, I listened to The Magic Flute, with LeBron creating his own magic that helped to change the world and make it a better place.