The Flag is Bleeding #2 (American Collection #6) 1997

Faith Ringgold made this quilt, "The Flag is Bleeding #2," and right away, you can see the flag motif, a powerful symbol, rendered in fabric and thread, which softens its hard edges. Ringgold uses a flat, almost graphic approach, that reminds me of Romare Bearden, with the bold colors and simplified forms. Check out the way the red paint bleeds down the canvas from the flag's stripes. It is like wounds seeping, which gives you a gut punch feeling, right? Then there’s the figure of the woman, her face obscured by stars, embracing two children. This detail really pulls you in. You can see the pain, and the history there. The quilting adds another layer, turning a painting into something warm, domestic, and handmade. Quilts have a long history, particularly amongst African-American artists, and Ringgold uses this tradition to tell complex stories about race, identity, and American history. Like her story quilts, this piece invites us to question what it means to be American, and how we can use art to confront difficult truths.