Trial by Jury in the Court of Public Opinion: Phoenix Reacts to Flag Art Exhibition Phoenix Art Museum, March 16 – June 16, 1996

Abstract

Old Glory: The American Flag in Contemporary Art, is an 80-piece exhibit dis played in Phoenix, Arizona in 1996. It examines the use of the American flag as an image in contemporary art from the 1950s to the present. This exhibit documents a period of social upheaval in America, and it displays artists’ responses to major sociopolitical events. The flag, like the Bible, can be used by almost anyone to stand for almost anything, including political opinions, ideals, and even hatred. Phoenix is a conservative community in a conservative state, and the flag art show has generated more rhetoric than any other single cultural event in recent history. 1