In the 1950s-60s, Jasper Johns created two works – Flag (1954-55) and Target (1961) – which both carved his place in the art historical canon and established a new conceptual framework for art. These encaustic versions of instantly recognizable icons (an American Flag and a simple series of concentric circles) represent a dramatic shift in art theory. Simply put, before Johns, a flag wasn’t art. Neither was a target. And without Johns, we would not have the newest show from Doug Aitken, “Flags and Debris,” on now at Regen Projects until March 13th.

The show consists of large fabric tapestries and a video installation which uses those tapestries to garb dancers performing throughout Los Angeles. The first connection from Aitken to Johns is with Aitken’s own Target (2020), a tapestry composed of scavenged mixed fabrics. Not only is this piece visually inspired by Johns’ work, but its material and the way it flows off the wall inspires the feeling of a flag.

And from this initial connection to Johns, we can see the conceptual diversion from Johns that Aitken takes with the rest of the show. While Johns suggested that a flag could be art, Aitken suggests a work of art could be a flag. Other than Target, the rest of Aitken’s tapestries and banners contain some kind of textual element — mostly phrases or slogans. Some phrases are uniting (almost to the point of being banal, such as We The People (2020)), while others are simply referential of our era, like Digital Detox (2020). But a flag is more than a rallying commonality, and certainly more than an inert object which hangs on our walls.

Aitken’s video work, Flags and Debris (2020) uses choreography developed with LA Dance Company in order to explore the conceptual power of flags. Aitken uses dancers completely enshrouded in his flags to show how they may act like suits of armor. The flowing, expressive movements of the performers highlight the malleability of a flag’s material and essence, but their inability to escape the shrouds illustrates the danger of covering yourself in ideology. While it can protect you, it can just as easily trap you.

Regen Projects
6750 Santa Monica Blvd, LA, CA, 90038
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