What is the proper way to display the U.S. flag? This is a question posed by the artist Dread Scott in 1989 during his controversial installation, What is the Proper Way to Display a US Flag, sparking debate about the freedom of expression and the symbolism of the American flag. Considerations that remain thirty-six years later. The installation featured a flag placed on the floor, prompting viewers to step on it to reach a notebook where they could document their reactions to the work, while encouraging them to consider the question posed in the installation’s title.

Today, there are multiple opinions and responses to the American flag. Since the onboarding of Trump into our political system, the flag has come to be associated with far-right extremists. Not only did the January 6th insurrectionists display the flag upside down as a sign of distress, but a flag in a similar position was seen outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, an individual who should represent our nation in a bipartisan manner.

Dread Scott’s installation was met with strong pushback and reactions, including from then-President George H.W. Bush and others, who called it disgraceful. Protests ensued over censorship, with many arrested for flag desecration. Today, protests appear to be escalating, with actions by elected officials surpassing morally questionable actions like never before.

History is watching and recording current events. And artists are responding. With nuance, critique, defiance, and transformation. Our upcoming exhibition, Stars, Stripes, and Reckoning: Threads of a Nation, reclaims the American Flag as a site of reflection, confrontation, and possibility, while questioning whose flag it is. Whom does it protect, and who gets to decide its meaning?

So what does the flag mean to you? Has your view changed over the years, and what meaning do those stars and stripes hold for you? How do you think the US flag should be displayed? We look forward to the dialogue and to sharing our upcoming exhibit with you.

-trw

Stars, Stripes and Reckoning… coming soon.

The Provocative Imagery of Asia Stewart