Secret Caverns Billboard: The Patriot Act

Cobleskill, New York

Imagery of the Stars and Stripes, Uncle Sam and the America Flag are abundant on Secret Caverns billboards. Critics and rival caves might suggest that this is merely an appropriation of Grateful Dead iconography, painted by addled pot-heads, desperate to fill billboard space on a hot day.

Secret's salute to America is much more. Obviously, it is a tribute to the psychedelic poster traditions of the late '60s, an era which opened up new avenues of free expression for the nation.

Free enterprise, cornerstone of the American Way, is at the core of Secret Caverns' success. The last-ditch billboard is perhaps the best instrument to practice the tenets of democracy. Freedom of Choice! Turn here instead of there!

This detail is from another billboard, "Made in America," just down the road -- the All-knowing Caveman Dude as Uncle Sam.

Made in America design explained by Todd (August 2001).
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