Jimm Johanna
United States v. America, pair 1
2018
Vintage American flags reassembled.
left flag: 228 cm x 144 cm
right flag: 224 cm x 147 cm
Exhibited at:
For a country united, our flag has always been divided: stars and stripes. Contrasts in shape and color, forming one perfect rectangle. A visual divide is also as old as America itself.
In the coming Twenties, with our divisions growing more stark, will we continue to wave the same flag?
Or should that flag, like it’s people, split as well?
With respect, my wife and I disassembled a number
of flags—separating their cantons (stars) from their fields (stripes). We then reassembled them into
their like parts: Stars united on one flag. Stripes
aligned on another.
The result was an American flag fit for 2021: two flags.
In our new flag, we see it’s evolved division as forming
a bold design representative of our collective strength. Each side may claim their own POV, but neither disowns America’s stars and stripes.