#1: The Golden Driller

As the state monument of Oklahoma and the 6th tallest statue in the US, the Golden Driller was always going to be the first card. This post is my own personal tribute to the "men of the petroleum industry who by their vision and daring have created from God's abundance a better life for mankind."

 

Date of creation: 1952

The GD was presented by the Mid-Continent Supply Company at the International Petroleum Exposition, temporarily erected again in 1959 and permanently installed at the 1966 exposition.  It now lives alongside the Tulsan State Fair, which seems to function like an expo center.

Historical significance: 88 

As the self-proclaimed oil capital of the world, the Golden Driller is an endearing symbol of the oil barons who put Tulsa on the map (or was that Chandler?)

European-ness: 7.3 

Is there anything more European than ploughing money into underused cultural projects? And its free. Scored down for splaying an advertisement across his chest. 

Cowboy hats: 0 

Neither the motorbike couple nor the hatchback family provided the holy grail. I won’t accept tenuous arguments like "motor bikers are the cowboys of the industrial age".  

Collective consciousness: 8% 

Any tourist site you can see from your car is lacking. 

Wokeness: -100 

Alas poor driller, you would be a top tier card were this pre-2017. Unfortunately you are a patriarchal colossus with looming historical questions regarding the native population. Not even a redacted “men and women” in the plaque could save you on this one.

Overall

The unconcealed pride in the oil industry is pretty jarring for a boy who just moved from a fancy liberal school in the UK.  I do wonder how this pride sits with the forces behind Tulsa Metro Chamber's two-word description of comfortably cosmopolitan as the "essence of Tulsa".  I can't comment on whether the driller is an enduring part of Tulsan identity or becoming a nod to the past, but it was more than worthy of being my first Tulsan tourist attraction.

Notes from an artist

I can offer the ineptitude of my water colours as an apology to any Tulsans detecting a sneering attitude in this blog. My painting is more infantile than your tourist sites are underwhelming. I can’t even claim post-naturalism. I was fully committed to a realistic representation of the Golden Driller’s muscular frame. Must watch more YouTube videos on brushwork.