Bringing up Dred Scott Tyler’s installation art “What is the Proper way to Display an American Flag?”, what are your views on desecrating the American flag? Does the American flag itself, a physical object, truly deserve the reverence that some Americans give it?
light_khaki
The American flag is a physical object, but it is also a symbol. The moment something becomes a symbol, the ways in which that symbol can be used are limited to good taste. That is, if you are a compassionate person, you will consider how your depiction will affect others who understand the meaning of the symbol.
So, how do you feel about America? This limits and liberates the ways in which the flag may be treated. If you respect America and/or the ideals upon which it is based, then the ways in which you might depict the flag are limited to good taste. You don’t wipe your butt with it or set it on fire. On the other hand, if you respect the ideals of America, but you feel that others are dragging America through the dirt, then the way in which you depict the flag becomes a political statement.
When you take a symbol which is as widespread as a flag (of any country) and depict it in a way which is not acceptable, it is both a personal statement and a political one. It is an action approaching sacrilege, as with some of the art pieces depicting the cross in various unflattering ways. The depiction becomes the message. What was the “artist” trying to say and why did they feel they had to resort to such drastic tactics?
Is it Disney or the Church being criticized here?
Only the artist knows for sure.
When I was a child, my mother had a large flag pinned up in the hall, and taped to it was a picture of Frank Zappa (on the crapper). At its most basic, the juxtaposition of Zappa and the flag was a reaffirmation of freedom of speech, and that is really what is at stake in any disrespectful depiction of the flag. When someone “disrespects” the American flag, what they are really saying is, “I do not think that our leaders respect the ideals of this nation, but they haven’t taken away my right to freedom of speech (yet) and I’m damn well going to sensationalize my disgust and disappointment with the current regime by destroying this symbol in the hope that my message will reach as large an audience as possible.” But I paraphrase. 
In the end, destroying a flag in any way is not art; it is a political statement. Altering any symbol in a less than respectful way is a political statement. Either way, our freedom to make such a statement is protected by the same institution that we attempt to criticize through the act of desecration. The old adage stands true: Actions speak louder than words. Most people who resort to flag burning have had their concerns about the state of our country and the direction in which it is going ignored or dismissed by those in a position of power, so they resorted to the attention-getting tactic of desecration of the symbol of the country they feel has let them down. Would burning an elephant or donkey in effigy have had the impact of destroying a flag? I think not. The flag as a symbol is a meme, and any attempt to destroy a meme will strike at the core of any human being. Memes are the framework to which we tie our understanding of reality. To destroy or damage a meme is to peel back a bit of the human psyche to the slavering thing underneath… and that thing tends to lash out in the light of day. It’s why we keep the human beast well-insulated in a blanket of meme-enforced civility.
June 24th
St. John’s Day, as an adaptation of the solstice festivals, was also celebrated with bonfires on hilltops to commemorate the high point of the year.
Fors Fortuna, Lady Luck, had this as one of her holy days. This day was dedicated to her by King Servius Tullius who set aside a temple to Fors Fortuna beside the Tiber.
The Peruvian Incas once held a festival known as Inti Raymi in honor of the sun god. The future was divined from the entrails of a freshly killed llama. The Aztecs also honored the sun with a feast day.
Janet Farrer was born today.
The Egyptian Festival of the Burning of the Lamps was held at Sais. This is the third great festival in Sais to Athena (Isis-Neith). In an under-chapel beneath the temple, lamps were carried in procession around the coffin of Osiris. It was by the power of light, symbolizing the life-giving power of the Moon, that Isis rekindled life in her dead husband.
Ishtar and Tammuz were honored today, as were Astarte, Aphrodite, Venus and Adonis.
In Scandinavia, the ceremonies normally associated with Beltaine or Whitsuntide take place at Midsummer. A Midsummer Bride is chosen and she selects for herself a Bridegroom. A collection is made for the pair who are looked upon as man and wife for the day.
Comments (6)
So you don’t believe art and politics can go together?
I’m sort of meh about installation art. Actually, to tell you the truth, I usually hate installation art.
I think Taylor meant to push people’s buttons and that’s what he did. It is all about free speech with that piece, but I don’t think it’s successful as a work of art because it didn’t really make anyone think about the meaning of the American flag and what the image means. They just had a knee-jerk reaction to, usually negative, and why the hell not? I think Jasper John’s Flag does question what the flag means as a symbol much more creatively, elegantly, and effectively. Taylor is basically a ham-fisted hack.
Nice post!
@heidenkind - I think that something can be a political statement or art, not both, as each detracts from the meaning of the other. Art which is meant to be a political statement is not created for art’s sake, and vice versa.
I’m not a big fan of installment art either, particularly when the artist is attempting to use crudity as a statement. I don’t think crudity is a valid art form. For instance, there was a French artist who made a giant inflatable poop. I’m not kidding. It blew away. I read about it in the Weird News. How is a giant inflatable poop as large as a house art? A bad joke. Yes. Art? No.
I also don’t see flag burning as art. It’s a political statement, and protected by freedom of speech, but there’s nothing artistic about burning a symbol to ash. The same goes for offensive depictions of religious symbols. I’m not Christian, but I don’t appreciate it. It’s not nice and it’s not pretty. Art doesn’t have to be pretty, of course, but as soon as you try to give art a political stance, it detracts from the fact that it’s suppose to be art. :-/ Art is supposed to be about creation, not tearing things down.
@harmony0stars - Yeah, the poop thing is really juvenile and boring. Did you ever see Art School Confidential? That movie was so realistic it was almost painful for me to watch, but it shows exactly what is wrong with art schools and why we have to put with crap like as “art” nowadays.
I’m not sure if I agree with you on art needing to be purely for art’s sake. From a historical perspective, l’art pour l’art was a response to what artists saw as the threat of the camera. They didn’t have a moratorium on recording anymore (and things like portraits and landscapes were a huge element of art production), so they went with not having to serve a political purpose, a mimetic purpose, etc. The artist only needed to serve the aesthetic needs of him/herself. While I love many of the artists that were part of the Aesthetic movement, I think in the long run it distanced art from popular culture and the average person, and removed artists from being judged by standards of quality and skill. Which is how we eventually wound up with artists like Wim Delvoye and Taylor.
@heidenkind - I’m not saying that art can’t have a message, but the art shouldn’t be all about the message. Flag burning (and other “art” that is in your face about its message) seems to discard any attempt at art in favor of the message. If the message is blatant (I hate America, I hate Christianity, I hate Mickey Mouse?), then it’s not much of an artistic effort. They might as well have written their message down on a notecard and handed it out or dropped a ton of them from an airplane.
@harmony0stars - I agree.