The Flag is Melting / I Care about My Brother

Mixed media on canvas

2020

This piece reflects how I have been feeling concerning what has been going on in the United States currently.  The first part of the title refers to the protests and how people, in a way, seem to me to be “melting.”  People have been protesting because they wanted salons, beauty parlors, etc. to be opened, while others have been protesting against the recent deaths of Arnaud Aubry, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd.  It’s also hot, so it’s like people are “melting” in a sense.  The other half of the piece refers to my concern for my brother.  The public death of George Floyd made me think about my own brother.  He is young and vocal, and I don’t want him to have a negative experience with the police. 

When designing the piece, I thought about the American flag.  Part of the African-American/American Descendants of Slavery (ADOS) art-making tradition is the use of the American flag.  I was inspired by works like Faith Ringgold’s The Flag is Bleeding (1967) and Phillip Lindsay Mason’s The Deathmakers (1968) because the artists’ use of the flag as a political statement.  The hands on the piece are tracings of my own hands and were part of a piece that I was working on in January 2020.  The hands represent the raised fist, reaching up, and peace.  The multi-toned details on and connecting the hands are remnants of details that was on the original art piece.  However, I decided not to paint over those details because I wanted the history of the canvas to be shown, much like how I want the history of our nation to show.  To me, this piece is more introspective of my concerns than making a political statement.  I’m not an artist whose sole goal is to make “political art;” however, this piece is a reflection of how I am feeling concerning the current social climate of the United States.