Andrew Schoultz
Made In China (Gold Flag), 2018
Acrylic and gold leaf on American flag
Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art Collection
Gift of anonymous donor
2018.09.001

The United States flag in Andrew Schoultz’s Made in China (Gold Flag) is genuine but the additions are crafted. The liquid that seems to dribble down the surface is a static application of gold leaf. Throughout his practice Schoultz has conveyed meaning through combinations of icons that are sometimes communally understood—the flag is one example—and at other times create resonance by hinting at a consistent private vocabulary. Gold, as a substance, comes freighted with centuries of symbolic weight, but the phrase at the bottom of the flag, “Made in China,” only acquired its current potency over the past few decades, as the People’s Republic of China became a major global exporter of factory-built goods. Schoultz loads the Stars and Stripes with an atmosphere of international commerce and leaves the viewers to make their own judgment. He notes that the flag he used as his canvas was, itself, made in China. (DKS)

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Item description: This is an American flag coated with gold. Drip marks run down across the horizontal stripes on the upper part of the flag. Raised text in the bottom right corner reads: “Made in China.”