"Freedom To Love" Sculpture

Napa Valley College is honored to be the recipient of the "Freedom to Love" sculpture honoring the memory of Gilbert Baker, creator of the rainbow Pride flag, and his two close friends, Tom Taylor and Jerome Goldstein.

This amazing piece of art was created by acclaimed artist, Dina Angel Wing and donated to Napa Valley College in April of 2025 by the family of Tom Taylor and Jerome Goldstein.

Installation

The Freedom To Love sculpture is located in the lobby of the McCarthy Library on the campus of Napa Valley College. You can find the sculpture just to the left of the main entrance to the library in between the two benches. 

About The Artist

Years ago, acclaimed artist Dina Angel-Wing found her ingeniously crafted teapots in the international spotlight. Making use of Japanese motifs and raku firing techniques, Angel-Wing’s functional vessels turned lively witticisms into delightful visual puns. The overwhelming attention the media garnered on these pieces, as well as the devoted patronage of private and public collectors throughout the United States and Europe, allowed the artist increasing freedom to concentrate on fine art sculpture. 

Her first fine art series were extravagant clay and mixed media vessels aptly named Dream Boxes for their functional impracticality yet ideal physical representation of containers in which to wrap and preserve dreams. 

In recent years, Angel-Wing has focused on smoothly textured, figurative pieces. These partially-formed female forms are juxtaposed against geometric metal environments. The resulting sculptures are mysterious montages incorporating figures suspended against abstract minimalist compositions. 

Dina Angel-Wing received a B.A. in Art History from Haifa University, studied sculpture at Jerusalem’s Betzael School of Art, and upon emigrating from her native Israel, studied ceramics with Wayne Horuchi at Stanford University and raku with Andree Thompson at UC Berkeley. She has exhibited at the Los Angeles County Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Airport Gallery, Museum of Texas Tech University, Triton Museum, Richmond Art Center, and the Copia Museum of Wine, Food, & Art in Napa, CA. In addition, her work has been featured in such publications as House Beautiful, Home Magazine, International Entertaining Magazine, Home and Garden, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Oakland Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, and San Francisco Examiner Image Magazine.

He sought to replace the pink triangle, a Nazi relic from World War II. Working with friends, he dyed and sewed the first Rainbow Flags. On June 25, 1978, Gilbert raised the banners in United Nations Plaza to commemorate that year’s San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade. 

In June of 1994, Gilbert achieved a world’s record when he created a mile-long Rainbow Flag to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall Riot 1969 in New York City. The banner measured 30 x 5,280 ft. and was carried by 5,000 people. The project was underwritten by Stadtlander’s Pharmacy.

In 2000, Gilbert staged his first exhibition of photographs and fine art celebrating the flag in Rome for World Pride. However, numerous protests from the Vatican delayed the exhibition, and later closed it down. In 2002, the New York Gay LGBT Community Center hosted a 180-piece show of Gilbert’s work. The following year, an expanded version of the show was mounted in two simultaneous exhibitions at the San Francisco Public Library and the San Francisco LGBT Community Center.

In 2003, to celebrate the Rainbow Flag’s 25th anniversary, Baker broke his own world record by creating a gigantic flag for Key West Pride. The banner was 1 and one-quarter miles long, and stretched sea to sea from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. The flag was cut into sections that were distributed to more than 100 cities around the world. The project was underwritten by Absolut Vodka. The Key West flag was chronicled in the documentary “Rainbow Pride,” directed by Marie Jo Ferron, and screened at film festivals and on public television.

On June 9, 2016, Gilbert attained a high point in his life of activism. He was invited to the White House for a reception to commemorate LGBT Pride Month. There, he personally presented President Barak Obama with a hand-dyed, cotton Rainbow Flag.

On March 31, 2017, Gilbert Baker passed away in his sleep at home. At the time, he had been planning for a trip back to his childhood home in Parsons, Kansas. There, he was to be honored at the first annual Gilbert Baker Film Festival at Labette Community College.

Gilbert Baker’s Rainbow Flag resides in the public domain. Learn more about Gilbert Baker
Source: www.GilbertBaker.com

Jerry and Tom gave generously of their time and resources to the nascent LGBTQ+ Equality Movement in the 1970s and 1980s, and are regarded as two of the heroes of the battle to conquer HIV/AIDS. Among the many nonprofit organizations they supported are Theater Artaud, the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, Frameline, Golden Gate Business Association and Human Rights Campaign. there is likely not one San Francisco LGBTQ+ or arts organization that has not benefited from his philanthropy. 

As conservative as he may have found the medical field, Jerome was determined to ensure that his private life was anything but. If you invited Tom and Jerry to a party you could be sure of two things: that they would arrive late, because Jerry loved to make an entrance, and that Jerome would be dressed in something so outrageous, usually with lighting attached, that it was useful to warn other guests in advance what to expect. 

Jerry and Tom, after decades together, were finally married in 2013 in a ceremony officiated by Bruce Vilanch, Gilbert Baker and chanteuse Sharon McNight.

Source: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/san-francisco-ca/jerome-goldstein-11544585

In Memoriam

How The Sculpture Came To The College

In August 2025, the Gilbert Baker Foundation reached out the LGBT Education Program at the college because of our work together on hosting the Flag in the Map exhibit the year before. Foundation leaders knew of the college's commitment to the LGBTQ+ community and to preserving and passing along its history.

A permanent home was being sought for the "Freedom to Love" sculpture after it could not be located at a couple of locations in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood. After discussion with the family and estate of Tom Taylor and Jerome Goldstein, it was agreed that Napa Valley College was the perfect place to install the sculpture. 

The McCarthy Library was chosen as the ideal location because all of the college's students and staff regularly pass through the space. The library is also home to the largest LGBTQ+ book collection in northern California. LGBT Education students use this collection for research and having the representations of Gilbert Baker, Tom Taylor and Jerome Goldstein looking on just seemed perfect.

The sculpture was delivered and placed in the library lobby in April of 2025. A dedication ceremony was held on May 9, 2025.

Videos produced and used with the permission of Richard Gutierrez