Twilight Gleaming, 1

Indivisible, the Flag Between Us

The American flag has long stood for both unity and the freedom to express differing views.  On the eve of the nation’s  250th anniversary, our reading of the flag is in flux.  In recent years, events such as those of January 6, 2021, have revealed how differently we experience the same national icon.  Indivisible: The Flag Between Us asks what this American symbol means now, at this polarized moment in our nation’s history.

Indivisible is an artist-led civic project built upon Twilight Gleaming, a photographic series of images that explores the visual strength and evolving meaning of the American flag.

These images were made in the spring of 2021, at a moment when the flag felt especially vulnerable as a shared national icon.  Late one afternoon, as daylight faded over the Chesapeake Bay, I was drawn to the flag’s reflection in the water, transfixed by the way it twisted, dissolved, and reformed. Twilight Gleaming conveys the flag’s power and agility, moving fluidly between moments of apparent fragility and unwavering resilience.

Project Concept

Indivisible: The Flag Between Us consists of ten images from Twilight Gleaming presented as an immersive installation of large-scale brushed aluminum prints, softly lit in a darkened space that invites contemplation and public engagement.

Indivisible asks viewers to consider what the American flag evokes for them.  Their reflections will become part of an oral archive and publication documenting how this national symbol carries meaning within and beyond the United States.  In doing so, the project poses the larger question of what it means to be American today. The goal is to expand this archive and invite a broad range of people to experience the installation and, if they choose, contribute their reflections. Indivisible welcomes difference, honoring the plurality that defines the American democratic experiment.