Robert Longo’s Stand exhibition at Capitain Petzel in 2012 was a meditation on American identity and protest, tailored to the specific location. It transformed the gallery building’s architecture into a stage for political and social reflection. One feature was the gallery’s glass façade, which was covered by a monumental black-and-white fragment of the US flag — a gesture that set the tone for the exhibition’s exploration of national symbols and collective anxieties. Inside, visitors encountered a large charcoal drawing of the entire flag, flanked by two other works: one depicting a sea of Occupy Wall Street protesters from above and the other showing a solitary US soldier facing an uncertain future. These images in Longo’s hyperrealistic style, were intended to spark a dialogue about power, dissent and vulnerability in contemporary America. In the main hall, Longo opposed a photorealistic, larger-than-life drawing of President Obama with a tableau of radical Tea Party members to emphasise the polarisation of American political life.
The key to the understanding of the exhibition lies in its use of art as a lens through which to view urgent social issues such as national identity, protest, militarism and the shifting meaning of symbols. Longo’s immersive installation made viewers physically confront them by using scale, architecture and the stark drama of charcoal. More about the project here on the gallery website.
