The phrase "Manifest Destiny" first appeared in an 1845 article by the journalist John L. O'Sullivan.
Advocates of manifest destiny usually focus on three themes:
1. the virtue of the American people and their institutions
2. the mission to spread these institutions, thereby redeeming and remaking the world in the image of the United States
3. the destiny under God to do this work

Although usually applied to the occupation and annexation of North America and subjugation of native peoples by the U.S. government, the rationale that God has ordained a chosen group of people to seize territory and civilize savages is as old as humanity itself.

This series of clay monoprints was inspired by the classic science fiction novel "Martian Chronicles" -- Ray Bradbury's narrative of the exploration, conquest, destruction and abandonment of the Martian civilization. Each print consists of multiple sheets of black sandpaper -- much like the composite images created from multiple photographs taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.