One issue. One moment. One newspaper.
A black and white American flag with alternating stripes of First Amendment text and critiques of the current administration’s impact on the state of our union.
OLD BABY MAD KING – July 4th 2025 – WSJ 7/5-6, 2025
13 × 24.7 in. (33 × 62.7 cm) Analog newspaper collage on canvas, red thread, grommet
A black and white American flag alternates stripes of Trump Administration headlines and the text protecting our right to free speech. The white on black letters recreating the First Amendment were sourced from a single newspaper from the July 4th, 2025 weekend edition. Snippets of headlines and photography provide a stark commentary on the erosion of expression and our democracy under threat.
I can’t help but be playful when the going gets tough. At least we can laugh while we are miserable. This summer I had seen the police support flag hanging on a tree outside my childhood home as a cyber truck drove up behind me. I could feel the passage of time and the change that comes with it. It’s about time I did a flag piece. Creating this work for this show, I was amazed I could find all the letters I needed for the First Amendment in white on black letters from a single newspaper. Working through a puzzle of July 4th weekend news, the headlines revealed questions that keep rolling around in my head. How does the “Big Beautiful Bill” serve Trump’s voting base? Is this a long “calm” before a tempest? How is this happening? How is this ok?
EXHIBITIONS
- 2025 Free To Sp%@K!, Village Well Books & Coffee Art Gallery, Culver City, CA