James Lee Byers: Works 1974-1994

An exhibition of two seminal works by James Lee Byars. Together, these works present Byars’ aim to question the very nature of the flag, nationalism and conscience.

“The Black German Flag” was created in Berlin during a 1974 fellowship with DAAD, the German Academic Exchange Program. Remnants of the Second World War and The Holocaust lingered in the divided city and profoundly influenced the artist. “The Black German Flag” can be a read as an hermetic shroud, evoking the destruction and losses these events produced. The gallery also presents “The American Flag” (1974), which alludes to the controversial transition between Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford during the Vietnam War, a war which the artist was vehemently opposed to. Together, these works present Byars’ aim to question the very nature of the flag, nationalism and conscience.