The first image is of the 1984 National Geographic Magazine front cover. This was the first commercially produced and distributed hologram made using the rainbow hologram technique (invented by a team of American researchers at MIT). It was distributed by a national publication and uses the American symbol of the bald eagle (a North American bird of prey) which is seen on federal seals. This hologram was used on major credit cards, and so might also represent commercialism/consumerism/capitalism.
The second image is a photograph of visualization that my father drew on a paper napkin to explain reverse mortgages to his son-in-law. This image calls to mind the nation's long history of property ownership and land rights (voters as landowners; frontier culture; the mortgage crisis; America's rise and fall). Also, the material nature of the object--that the reverse mortgage was depicted on a commercially produced lunch napkin is somehow appealing.
The final image is a photograph of a gun necklace. I chose this because although I'm unsure the type of gun (whether it is a rifle/shotgun/musket or what the differences between those are) Americans might have a variety of associations with guns and American history. One of the first things that older guns bring to my mind are the American Revolution and the weapons used in historical performances of that time (e.g. in Colonial Williamsburg), and the imperial gun-power that established the colonies and took advantage of native peoples. Later guns might signify frontier culture, cowboys, "the man on his front porch with a shotgun," property rights, the NRA, the second amendment, militias, and more recent gun problems in the country: Columbine, Virginia Tech, etc. Also, because the necklace is fake-gold, it serves as a kind of fake-"bling"--which when coupled with violent symbolism of guns could stir associations with The Notorious B.I.G. et al., inner city violence, etc.
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