Alfredo Jaar's“A Logo For America” Reexamined Amid Political Shifts

(MENAFN- USA Art News) Artist Alfredo Jaar's iconic 1987 work,“A Logo for America,” was recently showcased at Galerie Lelong New York, more than a year into the second Trump administration. The exhibition, which opened in September, presented the original piece alongside translations into various media.

Originally commissioned for the Public Art Fund's Messages to the Public series,“A Logo for America” debuted on the Spectacolor electronic billboard in Times Square from April 19 to May 2, 1987. The 38-second animation corrected the common linguistic conflation of the United States with“America.” It began with a map of the United States overlaid with the phrase“This Is Not America,” followed by the U.S. flag with“This Is Not America's Flag.” The sequence concluded with the word“AMERICA” expanding, its“R” transforming into the landmass of North, Central, and South America.

Jaar, who moved to New York five years prior to the work's debut, initially conceived it as a“semiotic exercise.” He told Observer,“I had just arrived in New York from Chile, and for me, as a Chilean and South American, I was American. Soy un americano. I am an American. And this is nothing spectacular, new, strange or weird. Argentinians feel the same way, Brazilians feel the same way. Somos todos americanos.” He added,“That was something that bothered me in the daily use, the erroneous, wrong, mistaken use of that word in everyday language at the time. That's how the work was born.”

The political resonance of the work intensified with historical events and the trajectory of American politics. Jaar noted that the piece“started to have a life of its own, and it acquired different meanings according to different people, different moments and different locations.” He further explored this theme in The Power of Words (1984/2021), presented at Art Basel Unlimited in June.

Jaar created“A Logo for America” during the late Reagan era, a period marked by debates over U.S. intervention abroad, particularly in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Cuba. The Iran-Contra scandal, which involved the illicit funding of Nicaraguan Contras, was a dominant news story in Washington, and President Ronald Reagan addressed the nation on the controversy in March 1987, weeks before Jaar's work appeared. For Jaar, born in Chile and raised under Augusto Pinochet's military dictatorship, political critique became central to his art, recognizing the historical role of the Nixon administration, Henry Kissinger, and the CIA in the region.

He believes that“now, thanks to Trump, everything is transparent. Everything is quite evident. There is no more hiding.” Jaar added,“His government and spokespeople are following his language. Everything is clear, and they are treating Latin America again as a backyard, with no respect whatsoever for sovereignty.” He sees re-exhibiting“A Logo for America” as creating“a little crack in the system,” reminding viewers that current events are not normal and that alternative social orders are possible. While art may not directly change the world, Jaar believes it offers different perspectives, stating,“It makes a correction that I think is necessary. But from that to changing the world is really a huge step.”

The work's influence is evident in contemporary culture, with artists like Bad Bunny and Residente echoing its message. Jaar described it as“marvelous, and such an honor, that my work served as a kind of starting point for these songs.” He invokes Antonio Gramsci's idea that art and culture contribute to gradual, rather than sudden, change. Jaar also observes a rising social and political awareness among younger generations, who he believes are reshaping public discourse. He said,“The new generation is spectacularly non-silent. Before, it was incredibly silent, and now they are awake. They are aware.”

Despite these observations, Jaar remains cautious about expressing hope, citing concerns about censorship and oligarchs acquiring media platforms to control narratives. He critically views the current political climate, stating,“It's absolutely spectacular to observe the narrative changing in front of our eyes. I never expected to see this in my lifetime.” He sees current attempts to silence dissenting voices by manipulating algorithms and acquiring platforms as“pure fascism.” While he admits to not knowing how these trends will unfold, Jaar emphasizes that uncertainty and continuous questioning are fundamental to his artistic practice. He reflects,“As an artist, I've never been afraid to say, 'I don't know.' I'm searching for ways to respond.” He references Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe's definition of art as an attempt to alter existing reality, which continues to drive his work.

Jaar's work has been exhibited at numerous institutions in the United States, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the New Museum.

Source: Observer Arts

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