Wk 5 - Artist - Dread Scott
- Kennedy Nguyen
- Jul 2, 2017
- 2 min read
Dread Scott
About the Artist
Scott Tyler (born 1965), known professionally as Dread Scott, is an American artist whose works, often participatory in nature, focus on the experience of African Americans in the contemporary United States. His first major work, "What Is the Proper Way to Display a U.S. Flag" (1989), was at the center of controversy regarding the desecration of the American flag. He first received national attention in 1989 when his art became the center of controversy over its use of the American flag while he was a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. President G.H.W. Bush called his art “disgraceful” and the entire US Senate denounced this work and outlawed it when they passed legislation to “protect the flag.”
Analysis
1988; Silver gelatin print, US flag, book, pen, shelf, audience; 80 x 28 x 60 inches
In 1989, while on display at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, What is the Proper Way to Display a U.S. Flag? became the center of national controversy over its use of the American flag. President Bush Sr. declared What is the Proper Way… “disgraceful” and the entire US Congress denounced this work as they passed legislation to “protect the flag.” Senator Dole specifically noted that the law would apply to “the so-called ‘artist’ who has invited the trampling on the flag.” As part of the popular effort to oppose moves to make patriotism compulsory, Scott, along with three others, burned flags on the steps of the US Capitol. This resulted in a Supreme Court case and landmark decision.
The installation is comprised of: a photomontage (the montage consists of pictures of South Korean students burning US flags holding signs saying ‘Yankee go home son of bitch’ and flag draped coffins in a troop transport; text printed on the photomontage reads “What is the Proper Way to Display a U.S. Flag?”), books (originally with blank pages) on a shelf, ink pens, a 3’x5′ American flag on the ground and an active audience. The audience was encouraged to write responses to the question “What is the Proper Way to Display a U.S. Flag?” As they did so, they had the opportunity to stand on the flag as they wrote their response. When this work has been displayed, thousands of people filled hundreds of pages with responses. Many many of those stood on the flag as they added their comments to the work. Below is a brief sampling of comments from these pages.
Scott wrote in a Tribune article at the time, "I called the piece 'an installation for audience participation.' Veterans and their supporters have accepted the invitation, not only by writing in the books but by lifting the flag from the floor, folding it and placing it on the shelf. Although a few viewers have unfolded it and put it back on the floor, it does not stay there long."
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