Stars and Stripes redesign

Stars, Stripes, and Power

10x12

For my stars and stripe redesign, I chose acrylic paint on watercolor paper. I used a 2B for sketching and outlining so it could be erased easily. I chose the acrylic paint to clean up the lines and erased most of the sketch to purify them. For this assignment, our color pallet consisted of red, white, blue, and black. I experimented by trying to create new versions of the flag which I had never done before.

I used color to emphasize the shape of everything; the stars, fist, stripes. I used space and contrast by creating the stripes. I also added unity with the single fist.

The idea of this piece is the iconic Black Lives Matter fist, wrapped in the American flag. A really common misconception about the BLM movements is that they are anti- America, and "unpatriotic". With this stigma, some groups of people have taken the flag and made it a symbol which it does not stand for. If you see a pick-up truck with an American flag flying on the back, I am guessing many peoples first thought is not, "Wow. How patriotic." I created this piece to show that Americans who challenge the people in power and fight for equality don't hate America and are; in my opinion, more patriotic for wanting to make it better. I'm proudest of the message this piece has, I think I did a pretty good job making it a meaningful re-design. I struggled with making the stars look okay although, but I focused on it and figured it out.