The eagle has been severely transformed and seems to have lost all of the features, associated with its species. He is slender and has an exceptionally long and slim beak. His geometric wings resemble some sort of militant machine or an amour, rather than the wings of a bird. In the square space, under the wings, schematic forms of people were placed, much like Leonardo da Vinci’s man inscribed in a square and circle. The bird's claws on the other hand resemble human hands. The bird’s head is adorned with a crown, like the bird on the Polish emblem (before the war and after 1989), although it is different, taller, gossamer like, more appropriate for a fairy-tale princess than the symbol of a country.
This eagle’s expression is different as well. The eagle from the Polish emblem is the quintessence of stability and pride. The eagle Uklański created based on Szukalski’s sketch is a sign of rebellion. There is something ominous about it. Despite the whole stylization, he seems ready for action, ready for battle.
Uklański and Szukalski share a common path, the life of an immigrant. Uklański lives and works mainly in New York City. Szukalski was a Polish patriot, although he spent most of his life outside of his homeland. When he moved to Los Angeles in 1940, he became close friends with George Di Caprio’s family. His son, a famous Hollywood actor, Leonardo Di Caprio is the owner of a sizeable collection of Szukalski’s work. Beforehand though, in 1929 in Kraków, Szukalski founded the Szczep Szukalszczyków Herbu Rogate Serce. His artistic philosophy was founded on the role the idea of Polishness plays in a nation and distinct neopoganism. He designed the sign topokrzyż (representing an axe, with the top part that looked like an eagle), which was to be used to mark Polish shops (when a ban to mark Jewish shops was introduced). Although even nationalists had a problem with Szukalski – his art was overly fantasy like in their opinion.