Présentation de l'artiste Dread Scott

→ Presentation of Dread Scott’s artwork:

    Born in 1965 and raised in Chicago, Dread Scott is known for his live performances, photographs, installations, screen-paintings, and, videos. He attended college at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and later moved to New York to start his career. His real name is Scott Tyler, but he decided to chose «Dread Scott» as his artist’s name. He created this name by combining his own first name and the name of a black slave called "Dred Scott" who, without success, sued for his freedom and that of his family during the 1850’s.
Therefore, let us present to you one of his most popular work called What is the proper way to display a US flag? This piece of art is a revolutionary artwork realised in 1988. It is an installation for audience participation.

     This installation is divided in 3 different parts. The first one is a photomontage. At the top of the picture, we can see South Korean students who are burning the American flag while holding a sign that says ‘Yankee go home son of a bitch’. Then, the image below shows some flag draped coffins coming back from Vietnam. The second part of this artwork is interactive: it is a notebook where the bystander can write their answer to the title of the work. Finally, the most controversial part of this piece is the US flag which is displayed on the floor. The viewer can choose to step on it or not.

     The purpose of this piece is to denounce the generalized patriotism in America. Indeed, the viewer can either stand on the flag or refuse to do so. By putting them in front of this dilemma, the artist wants them to question themselves and think: “Is stepping on a piece a fabric really humiliating for the country I love?”. In the process, Dread Scott provoked many reactions. Some were good, but most were bad. This work of art resulted in the Flag Protection Act in 1989, which made it illegal to desecrate the United States flag. Because of this law, Dread Scott and 3 other people were incarcerated after burning American flags on the steps of the Capitol. Finally, Dread Scott was involved in a Supreme court case called United States v. Eichman. This case invalidated the law that protected the flag because it violated the people’s right to liberty of speech.

     In my opinion, I chose this piece because I like its originality and its meaning. Indeed, I enjoyed the fact that this work is interactive. I never encountered an artwork which viewers could interact with. Personally, I don’t like museum because I always have to fight the urge to run around and touch every piece of art. I can say this work made one of my dreams come true even if I just read other people’s opinion and didn’t write anything in the notebook. Next, on a more serious note, I love the meaning of the work. I like how the artist’s chose to fight against discriminations and oppression by using the American flag. Finally, I must say that I enjoyed learning all the events triggered by this piece of art.

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