Sweet Land

Today, when the appearance of a flag pin can absorb an entire news cycle, it's good to remember people like William Ray, a Navy sailor who literally dipped himself in patriotic tattoos. Of course, that was in 1930, when unrepentant displays of American symbols didn't make one a de facto member of Hannity's America. Composed of 75 items, the exhibit "American Symbols: From Lady Liberty to the Stars and Stripes" offers a nostalgic look at our nation's love affair with its own iconography, featuring everything from paintings and photos to quilts, pins, toys, and boots. There's also a flag made of money and a photo of ten thousand cadets on a Navy base in Illinois, intricately arranged in a fluttering human flag. The pieces transmit a wide variety of sentiment, pushing war and peace, celebration and protest, along with the very American impulse to sell something, from a battle on foreign soil to a can of peas. The exhibit also celebrates the American collector: The entire thing is drawn from the personal hoard of San Francisco resident Kit Hinrichs, a graphic designer and Eagle Scout who spent 40 years picking up more than 3,000 items, starting with the flag made by his great-great-great grandmother in 1865.
May 8-Aug. 3, 2008