Dave Cole's Flags of the World
This is a flag by Dave Cole. At first glance it just appears to be an American Flag. If you glance closely you will realize that this flag has stitching on it that is not just in the regular red and white stripes, nor the white stars set in the blue background. There are actually cutouts of many flags from around the world and they have been sewn together to make an American flag. He took this pieces of material from the Flags of the World from the 192 countries that make up the United Nations.
I also notice the bin that is sitting on the ground in the picture and how it has the rest of the scraps of the flags that were not used in the making on the hanging flag. Also if you look close enough you will see a pair of scissors sitting on the ground on top of some scraps next to the bin with the scraps in them.
When you look closely at the flag that he sewed together you will see tat not all of the reds, whites or blues are exactly the same hue and so you can distinguish their differences, especially with the blue in the upper left side of the flag.
When I first look at this I think of how it could show how America is a country that is made up of people from many other places and how each and every one of us and our cultures that we brought here have helped shaped an "American" culture.
I also think about how it could have meanings about foreign policy and how America seems to have a hand in helping or condemning other countries in the world. So it could mean how we have tried to make our influence felt on every nation in the world by either sanctioning them, being their ally or having some sort of trade with them.
I think the bin with the scraps could also speak volumes to how we use only what we find resourceful as a country and discard the excess with disregard.
No comments:
Post a Comment