Kelly Burke

Artist Statement

I have created through my Reimagined American Flags Series visual representations of my perspective on three major issues in the US today that bother me: 1) problems with xenophobia, bigotry, and anti-immigration policies; 2) the disproportionate killing of innocent African American men, women, and children; and 3) the unprecedented deaths due largely to unregulated access to not just handguns but also military-grade AK 47 assault rifles.
The related 'States of Being' series focuses on the 50 stars/states as part of my larger project to push the symbolic potential of the American flag's structure. Here I use 'states' to represent both individual states of being and the collective states within the US. I have completed nine paintings in this series each of which deals with a different identity such as related to being black. LGBTQ+, and ethnic minorities, but also political issues such as in the S.O.S. and Women United versions.
These flags and the related 'states of being' series are intended to stimulate constructive conversations on various ways to be patriotic without being xenophobic, racist, and bigoted toward people of other groups. I hope they also stimulate individual insights about why and how we should be more humane with one another. I have reimagined three American flags that not only I believe in but also may inspire solutions to how we can make the US a safer place for all its citizens to live out their lives fully.