MORE

https://www.crash.fr/the-best-art-exhibitions-and-news-during-paris-par-art-basel-by-crash/

Ruben Esparza’s Untitled (flag) series challenges the symbolic meaning of the American flag and questions the social and political history that has made it so recognizable across the globe today. A symbol of the American dream for some and colonial imperialism for others, the history of the American flag is fraught and complicated. 

In choosing to construct his flags out of familiar utilitarian materials, table clothes and cast-off remnants of cloth, all backed with a reflective Rosa Mexicano color lining – that speaks of his Chicanidad and queer identity –  suspended from used broomsticks, Esparza claims ownership of this symbol of democracy and the dream that it promises for the Latinx and queer communities of which he is a member. Utilizing a ‘do-it-yourself’ sensibility of art making, Esparza’s material choices indicate an irreverence towards this symbol, reflecting a cultural attitude shared by many thanks to recent political pushes to dismantle the rights of those said communities.

Blurring the line between high and low forms of art, these strategies of image making are from a lineage of art world giants such as Marcel Duchamp, Jasper Johns, and Andy Warhol while also in line with interrogations of this symbol by the likes of Faith Ringgold, Robert Colescott and Benny Andrews. In combining everyday objects in his constructions, Esparza’s flags also take part in Chicano rasquachismo traditions utilized by the likes of Amalia Mesa-Bains, Joey Terrill, Victor Durazo, and the de la Torre brothers, Jamez and Einar, among others. A resistance in the face of historical and contemporary exclusion from traditional cultural and art historical institutions and narratives, Esparza’s use of rasquachismo emphasizes his response to the politics of our time.

 -Rafael Barrientos Martínez