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Young Americans is a photo collection done by Sheila Pree Bright and was on display in the Fine Arts building of Agnes on December 7th. She has always tried to emphasize that her works are meant to challenge perceptions. With Young Americans, she took the American Flag and gave it to these ‘models’ who are apart of the younger generation who were allowed to do whatever they wanted with it. In doing so, they posed it in different fashions. Some people handled it delicately, because they have never touched an American flag before. Which said a lot about how powerful the representation of the American flag holds. Others handled it in way like what is shown above; in an almost desecrating way.
This piece is very much a commentary on the representations of the younger generation in America. Whether put on by the older generation, or other countries is up to interpretation. Some people posed as the stereotypes put on them(See pic 2), while others posed as a commentary of the American system(See pic 3).
Because of the strong commentary, this piece reminds me of the Animal project we did in class. In both, it addresses an issue that is wrong with society in an aggressive way. In Young American, it is the fact that the American flag is being used visually to represent these problems. With the Animal Project, it was the fact that there was a physical object that addressed the problem. This exhibition is very prominent and I’m glad it came to Agnes. I think it is a good example of how shifting perspective on an object can challenge an idea.
