''Untitled (African-American Flag)'' is a vexillographic artwork by

David Hammons David Hammons (born July 24, 1943) is an American artist, best known for his works in and around New York City and Los Angeles during the 1970s and 1980s. Early life David Hammons was born in 1943 in Springfield, Illinois, the youngest of ten ...

from 1990, combining the colors of the

Pan-African flag The Pan-African flag (also known as the Afro-American flag, Black Liberation flag, UNIA flag, and various other names) is a tri-color flag consisting of three equal horizontal bands of (from top down) red, black, and green. The Universal Negr ...

with the pattern of the

flag of the United States The national flag of the United States, United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rect ...

to represent

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

identity. It was first created for the art exhibition "Black USA" at an Amsterdam museum in 1990, and its

first edition The bibliographical definition of an edition includes all copies of a book printed from substantially the same setting of type, including all minor typographical variants. First edition According to the definition of ''edition'' above, a b ...

was of five flags, which are now in major museum collections. The work's creation has been seen in the context of the inauguration of

David Dinkins David Norman Dinkins (July 10, 1927 – November 23, 2020) was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993. He was the first African American to hold the office. Before enterin ...

as the first African American mayor of New York City, following his 1989 election. The following year Hammons was awarded the MacArthur Genius Fellowship for his "contributions to African American cultural identity".

Collections and galleries

The original series was of five flags, these are sometimes known as the 'Amsterdam flags'. The original series was followed by another series of ten. The original series flags include the versions in the collections of: *

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, (2 versions, 1 shared with the

Studio Museum in Harlem The Studio Museum in Harlem is an American art museum devoted to the work of artists of African descent. The museum's galleries are currently closed in preparation for a building project that will replace the current building, located at 144 W ...

) *

The Broad The Broad () is a contemporary art museum on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles. The museum is named for philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad, who financed the $140 million building that houses the Broad art collections. It offers free general ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

National Museum of African American History and Culture The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is a Smithsonian Institution museum located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was established in December 2003 and opened its permanent home in ...

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

* The Collection Over Holland The work is also in following collections but it is unclear when they were created: *

Jack Shainman Gallery Jack Shainman Gallery is a contemporary art gallery in New York City. The gallery was founded by Jack Shainman and Claude Simard (19562014) in 1984 in Washington, D.C. The gallery has a focus on artists from Africa, East Asia, and North America. ...

The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

* Pizzuti collection, Columbus, Ohio

Display and symbolism

File:Hammons_flag.jpg, The Hammons flag at the

, 2007 File:African America Flag.svg , A vector graphic rendition of the flag File:DSC 1323 Juneteenth, Sacramento CA (50023182178).jpg ,

Juneteenth Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. Deriving its name from combining "June" and "nineteenth", it is celebrated on the anniversary of General Order No. 3, i ...

, June 2020, Sacramento, California, USA File:NC Rally to Protect Our Votes with Team Democracy (2020 Nov) (50578187101).jpg, Protect Our Votes rally, November 2020, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA File:Boot Out White Power (2021 Apr) (51110316511).jpg , Boot Out White Power protest, April 2021, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA Since 2004 the Studio Museum Harlem has flown its version of the artwork above its entrance in Harlem, New York. Replicas of Hammon's flag are frequently flown social justice protests and demonstrations.

References

Flags introduced in 1990 1990 in art Flags in art Flags of the United States Ethnic flags African-American culture Works_by_David_Hammons {{Flag-stub

Collections and galleries

Display and symbolism

See also

References