On Flag Day, Marilyn Minter’s Controversial “Resist” Flag Returns to the New York Skyline
Thanks to the nonprofit Creative Time’s “Pledges of Allegiance” flag series, Minter and 15 other artists are taking their politics to a sky-high level.
Last month, a flag by the artist Marilyn Minter reading the word “RESIST” was erected outside Aby Rosen’s Lever House in Midtown Manhattan—and promptly removed less than 24 hours later, at the same time President Donald Trump happened to be in town. Whether its removal was censorship or not—Minter’s gallerist, Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn, said that it was due to the fact that it was positioned next to the American flag, a flouting of federal regulations—the banner has now reappeared, just in time for Flag Day (and the president’s 71st birthday).
Today, RESIST FLAG is flying high above New York atop Creative Time’s headquarters in lower Manhattan at 59 E. 4th Street—an area the nonprofit is calling a “permanent safe space” for the rest of its Pledges of Allegiance flag series, for which they solicited 16 artists to broadcast a public message in direct response to America’s current political climate.
See 16 Artists’s “Pledges of Allegiance” to Being Political
Jeremy Deller, Don’t Worry Be Angry, 2017.
Jayson Musson, A Horror, 2017.
Josephine Meckseper, Untitled (Flag 1), 2017.
LaToya Ruby Frazier, FLINT, 1,105 Days and Counting Man-Made Water Crisis, 2017.
Yoko Ono, IMAGINE PEACE, 2017.
Ahmet Ogut, If You’d Like This Flag in Colors, Burn It (In Memory of Marinus Boezem), 2017.
Robert Longo, Untitled (Dividing Time), 2017.
Alex Da Corte, Friends (for Ree), 2017.
Marilyn Minter, RESIST FLAG, 2017.
Nari Ward, Breathing Flag, 2017.
Vik Muniz, Diaspora Flag, 2017.
Ann Hamilton, FLY TOGETHER, 2017.
Pedro Reyes, Hands On with a Vision, 2017.
Rirkrit Tiravanija, Untitled, 2017 (fear eats the soul) (white flag), 2017.
Trevor Paglen, Weeping Angel, 2017.
Tania Brugeura, Dignity Has No Nationality, 2017.
Minter’s flag will fly above the Bowery until July 4, when it will be replaced by another banner made by one of the 15 other artists enlisted, including Jeremy Deller, who recently papered the streets of London with signs reading “strong and stable my arse” in response to recent moves by Theresa May, and Pedro Reyes, who last year created a political haunted house addressing abortion, gun violence, and income inequality. (Other artists featured are Yoko Ono, who opted for a typically peaceful message, and LaToya Ruby Frazier, who addressed the water crisis in Flint, as well as Tania Bruguera, Alex Da Corte, Ann Hamilton, Robert Longo, Josephine Meckseper, Vik Muniz, Jayson Musson, Ahmet Ögüt, Trevor Paglen, Rirkrit Tiravanija, and Nari Ward.)
There’s also a chance to get a bit closer to the sky-high art through an auction of each artist’s original mock-up. And if you’d prefer to wear your politics on your sleeve, you’re also in luck: Opening Ceremony designers Humberto Leon and Carol Lim have come out with a series of flag-emblazoned hoodies and t-shirts, in case you want to advertise the “horror movie called western civilization,” as the artist Jayson Musson put it, across your chest.
Related: Artist Marilyn Minter’s Protest Flag Lasted Less Than a Day Before It Was Censored
Meet the Chameleons of the Art World, aka the Humans of Frieze New York:
