Digital Print
5″ x 6.5″
2011
Symbol #1 is the first image in a planned body of work that investigates the tension between symbols and the actual ideas, places, things, etc., that the symbols represent. Ultimately, the work is a reminder of the power and limitations of symbols, as well as the problem of exalting the symbol to a higher status than the signified.
In Symbol #1, tension is increased by situating a symbol that is perceived to have a very “fixed” denotative meaning (i.e. American Flag=America), into tension with an overarching connotative meaning conveyed in the actual physical and environmental space of America.
Symbol #1 is a means to challenge or question any adulation that might be placed on a symbol and probe its relationship with that symbol’s meaning.