Michael James
United in Contradiction, 2020
Ceramics
21 x 12 x 8.5 inches
This piece is an attempt to visually portray the complexity and contradictory nature of our modern United States. The American flag represents a glorious, pristine America. The twenty-eight columns supporting the American flag reflect twenty-eight core ideas that I feel currently define our country. They range from positive qualities like democracy to darker, more hidden systems like mass incarceration. However, all of these columns are essential to understanding the United States. As you can see, not all of the columns are in good condition. Each damaged or imperfect piece represents my opinion on the state of that principle. For instance, the ‘Congress’ column is in tatters, while the ‘Freedom of Speech’ column looks newly minted.
You can see that some pieces of the American flag are ‘missing’ and have been replaced with gray pillars; gray representing the complexity of our nation that too often gets simplified to white or black. They can be easily flipped to represent any view of America. These columns showcase America's duality, representing both a beacon of hope and, too often, a system that fosters mass injustices. The base of the piece is glazed completely black as a contrast to the American flag. I felt the black base was important because sometimes people can get carried away in their criticisms of America, forgetting all of its good qualities. Alternatively, it could be a reminder of the slave labor which helped build this country.
I want people to look at issues in terms of their complexity instead of settling for a simplistic reaction of good or bad. When issues are boiled down to their simplest terms, it becomes far too easy to see people with different opinions as the ‘enemy’. I think this lesson is more important than ever in today’s political climate. It’s often difficult to see the tradeoff on topics you have passionate sentiments about. The goal of this work is to make one think more deeply about the beliefs we rarely question.
