In America: Remember

Last Saturday on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., between 15th and 17th Streets NW, I witnessed a sea of white flags representing the largest participatory art project in a quarter of a century.

In America: Remember, artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg makes tangible the human toll that COVID-19 has taken on our country. The billboard off to one corner has a stark figure posted on it: 700,327. It represents the number of persons in the U.S. who have died of COVID-19. There’s a planted white flag for each of them. 

As I walked around the massive installation located near the Washington Monument – a memorial garden if you will – that went up on September 17 and concluded on Sunday,  I couldn’t help but notice many of them had personalized printed messages. Each represented a real person who died from COVID-19. It’s a reminder of the human cost of this still-ongoing pandemic – all the while as the death toll increases daily and as thousands of Americans continue to refuse to get the free and safe vaccination that could prevent them from becoming part of the death toll – from becoming a statistic.

In my research for writing this post, I learned that it took 150 landscapers three days to install America: Remember, which began with 670,032 flags and represented the largest public participatory art installation on the National Mall since the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt was shown there in full in 1996.

The white flags are spaced 10 inches apart and spread over 20 acres of grass in 60-foot grids. There are nearly four miles of grassy paths to walk along. 

As someone wrote about the installation: “It helps make tangible the sheer scale of loss that is otherwise unfathomable.”

On Saturday, I saw many people walking quietly about the installation, some taking photographs, a few stopping to read some of the many messages. While there were benches to sit and reflect on throughout, I noticed that a few chose to sit on the ground, perhaps to better connect with a lost friend or family member. 

One of the messages I happened upon summed things simply: 

“Hope you’re in a better place brother. Love, Family”

In an interview for artnet.com, Firstenberg, 62, a social practice artist from Washington, D.C., explained what drove her to create In America: Remember.

“The National Mall is the greatest stage, and to have the opportunity to call attention to such a tragedy was something I felt I had to do. Words aren’t working any longer,” she said. 

“Words are falling on unlistening ears. It really is incumbent on visual artists to help translate and reflect back to society what is happening in the hope that things will improve, because art can effect positive change.”

Note: Because many across the country will be unable to visit this exhibition in person, the artist teamed with Esri, Inc. to present In America: Remember in the digital sphere concurrently at InAmericaFlags.org. At this website, people across the country will be able to view flags and join in honoring loved ones lost to COVID-19.

Photos: Michael Dickens © 2021.