ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dread Scott - Visual artist
Dread Scott makes revolutionary art to propel history forward.

Why you should listen

Dread Scott's work is exhibited across the US and internationally. In 1989, his art became the center of national controversy over its transgressive use of the American flag, while he was a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. President G.H.W. Bush called his art "disgraceful," and the entire US Senate denounced and outlawed this work. Scott became part of a landmark Supreme Court case when he and others defied the new law by burning flags on the steps of the US Capitol. His studio is now based in Brooklyn. 

Scott's work has been included in exhibitions at New York's MoMA PS1, the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis and Gallery MOMO in Cape Town, South Africa. His performance work has been presented at BAM in Brooklyn and on the streets of Harlem, NY. His work is in the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Brooklyn Museum, and it has been featured on the cover of Artforum magazine and the front page of NYTimes.com. Scott is a recipient of a 2018 United States Artists Fellowship and grants from the Creative Capital Foundation and the Open Society Institute. He works in a range of media, from performance and photography to screen-printing and video.   

Scott plays with fire -- metaphorically and sometimes literally -- as when he burned $171 on Wall Street and encouraged those with money to add theirs to the pyre. His work asks viewers to look soberly at America's past and our present. Writing about a recent banner project, Angelica Rogers wrote in the New York Times: "...it was difficult to look away from the flag's blocky, capitalized type. 'A Man Was Lynched by Police Yesterday.' It shouted the words so matter-of-factly that I felt myself physically flinch."

Scott is currently working on Slave Rebellion Reenactment, a community engaged performance that will reenact the largest rebellion of enslaved people in American History.

More profile about the speaker
Dread Scott | Speaker | TED.com
TED2018

Dread Scott: How art can shape America's conversation about freedom

Filmed:
1,368,594 views

In this quick talk, visual artist Dread Scott tells the story of one of his most transgressive art installations, which drew national attention for its controversial use of the American flag and led to a landmark First Amendment case in the US Supreme Court.
- Visual artist
Dread Scott makes revolutionary art to propel history forward. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
I am a visual artist,
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and I make revolutionary art
to propel history forward.
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I'm going to come right out
and tell you something:
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I don't accept the economic foundation,
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the social relations
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or the governing ideas of America.
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My art contributes to fundamental change
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by encouraging an audience to address
big questions from that perspective.
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Social change is hard,
but ideas matter tremendously.
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When I say I'm an artist,
most people think, "Oh, he's a painter."
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Behind me, you can see
some of the kind of work I do.
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"Imagine a World
Without America" is a painting,
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but I work in a range of media,
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including photography,
video and performance art.
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A current project,
"Slave Rebellion Reenactment,"
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is going to be reenacted
on the outskirts of New Orleans
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this November.
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01:02
In 1989, I had an artwork that became
the center of controversy
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over its transgressive use
of the American flag.
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01:09
"What is the Proper Way
to Display a US Flag?"
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is a conceptual work that encouraged
audience participation.
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It consisted of a photo montage
that had text that read,
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"What is the Proper Way
to Display a US Flag?"
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Below that were books that people
could write responses to that question in,
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and below that was a flag
that people had the option of standing on.
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The photo montage consisted
of images of South Korean students
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burning American flags,
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holding signs that said,
"Yankee go home. Son of a bitch,"
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and below that were flag-draped coffins
coming back from Vietnam.
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People wrote long and short answers.
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Thousands of people engaged with the work
in a lot of different languages.
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01:45
Some of the people said,
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"I'm a German girl.
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If we Germans would admire
our flag as you all do,
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we would be called Nazis again.
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I think you do have too much
trouble about this flag."
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"I think that the artist
should be returned to his heritage,
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i.e., the jungles of Africa,
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and then he can shovel manure
in his artistic way."
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"This flag I'm standing on stands for
everything oppressive in this system:
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the murder of the Indians
and all the oppressed around the world,
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including my brother
who was shot by a pig,
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who kicked over his body
to 'make sure the nigger was dead.'
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That pig was wearing the flag.
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Thank you, Dread Scott,
for this opportunity."
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"As a veteran defending the flag,
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I personally would never
defend your stupid ass!
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You should be shot!" -- US Navy Seal Team.
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As you can see, people had
very strong reactions about the flag then,
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as they do now.
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There were demonstrations of veterans
in front of the Art Institute of Chicago.
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They chanted things like,
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"The flag and the artist,
hang them both high,"
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evoking images of lynching.
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I received numerous death threats,
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and bomb threats
were phoned in to my school.
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It was a very dangerous situation.
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Later, President Bush called
the work "disgraceful,"
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which I viewed as a tremendous honor,
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and Congress outlawed the work.
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02:58
(Laughter)
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I became part of a Supreme Court case
when I and others defied that law,
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by burning flags
on the steps of the Capitol.
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That action and the subsequent
legal and political battle
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led to a landmark First Amendment decision
that prevented the government
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from demanding
patriotism be mandatory.
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But let me back up a bit.
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These people literally wanted me dead.
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What I would do at this moment
would make a difference.
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This is me at the exact same moment,
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eight stories above that crowd.
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It was supposed to be for a photo shoot
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that was going to take place on the steps
where the veterans were at that time.
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It wouldn't have been safe
for me to be there, to say the least.
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But it was really important
to do that shoot,
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because while some wanted to kill me,
it was also a situation
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where those who viewed the American flag
as standing for everything oppressive
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in this system
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felt that they had a voice,
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and that voice needed to be amplified.
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The point is this:
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changing anything --
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whether it's conventional ideas
about US national symbols,
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traditional thinking challenged
by scientific breakthroughs
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or ousting an authoritarian president --
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requires a lot of things.
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It requires courage,
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luck
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and also vision and boldness of action.
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But on luck --
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I have to say, the photo shoot we did
might not have worked out so well.
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We laughed after we were out of the area.
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But the thing is, it was worth the risk
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because of the stakes that were involved.
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And in this case, the luck
led to a wonderful,
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profound and powerful situation
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that was also humorous.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dread Scott - Visual artist
Dread Scott makes revolutionary art to propel history forward.

Why you should listen

Dread Scott's work is exhibited across the US and internationally. In 1989, his art became the center of national controversy over its transgressive use of the American flag, while he was a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. President G.H.W. Bush called his art "disgraceful," and the entire US Senate denounced and outlawed this work. Scott became part of a landmark Supreme Court case when he and others defied the new law by burning flags on the steps of the US Capitol. His studio is now based in Brooklyn. 

Scott's work has been included in exhibitions at New York's MoMA PS1, the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis and Gallery MOMO in Cape Town, South Africa. His performance work has been presented at BAM in Brooklyn and on the streets of Harlem, NY. His work is in the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Brooklyn Museum, and it has been featured on the cover of Artforum magazine and the front page of NYTimes.com. Scott is a recipient of a 2018 United States Artists Fellowship and grants from the Creative Capital Foundation and the Open Society Institute. He works in a range of media, from performance and photography to screen-printing and video.   

Scott plays with fire -- metaphorically and sometimes literally -- as when he burned $171 on Wall Street and encouraged those with money to add theirs to the pyre. His work asks viewers to look soberly at America's past and our present. Writing about a recent banner project, Angelica Rogers wrote in the New York Times: "...it was difficult to look away from the flag's blocky, capitalized type. 'A Man Was Lynched by Police Yesterday.' It shouted the words so matter-of-factly that I felt myself physically flinch."

Scott is currently working on Slave Rebellion Reenactment, a community engaged performance that will reenact the largest rebellion of enslaved people in American History.

More profile about the speaker
Dread Scott | Speaker | TED.com

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