On View
On viewObject number2013.7
Flags
Artist
Jason Langer
(American)
Date1995, printed 1996
Mediumgelatin silver print
Dimensionsimage flush: 8 × 6 1/2 in. (20.3 × 16.5 cm)
mount: 20 × 14 in. (50.8 × 35.6 cm)
mat: 24 × 20 in. (61 × 50.8 cm)
mount: 20 × 14 in. (50.8 × 35.6 cm)
mat: 24 × 20 in. (61 × 50.8 cm)
Credit LinePermanent Collection Fund
Label TextKnown for psychologically charged and noir-like images, Jason Langer creates photos that blur the line between observation and participation. In Flags, viewers are drawn into the scene as if they themselves are taking a photo of a shadowed figure walking down a city street lined with American flags. The man’s anonymity invites viewers to project themselves into this urban yet patriotic setting.
While most photographers ground their images in depicting people or places, Langer instead positions these flags as his main characters. The streetscape of repeating flags becomes a meditation on national symbols. Though the location remains unknown, this image underscores that the American flag has long represented ideals of freedom, democracy, and national unity. However, its meanings can shift across communities or generations. Flags invite viewers to consider how national symbols shape individual experience and collective identity, and how Americans continually reinterpret and redefine their relationship to the nation.
[Label Text: For the People: America at 250 Exhibition, June 27 - October 4, 2026]There are no works to discover for this record.