SPOKEN STATE - USA - JFK
Inaugural Address
John F. Kennedy · 1961
The Work
MEDIUM
Acrylic on Dibond aluminium
DIMENSIONS
915 × 482 mm (10:19 ratio)
COLOURS
Cadmium Red (Hue), Titanium White, Ultramarine Blue
SPEECH
Inaugural Address, 1961
SPEAKER
John F. Kennedy
LOCATION
United States Capitol, Washington D.C.
About the flag
The Stars and Stripes — 13 red and white stripes, 50 white stars on blue canton, ratio 10:19
Historical Context
The moment: February 25, 2022 — the day after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine — the largest military assault in Europe since World War II. Within hours, Western governments were urging President Zelensky to evacuate Kyiv. He refused.
The following day, Zelensky filmed himself with members of his government on the streets of Kyiv — a simple, direct, unedited video statement. He said: 'I am here. We are not putting down our weapons. We are defending our country.' The message, shared immediately across social media, was seen by hundreds of millions of people within hours.
The video became one of the defining images of the 2022 invasion: a head of state who chose to stay, face the cameras on the street, and hold the line — in contrast to the predictions of intelligence services who had estimated Kyiv would fall within 72 hours.
Ukraine's resistance — and the global response to it — transformed the geopolitical landscape of Europe. Zelensky's words on that street in Kyiv on February 25, 2022 are now part of history.
The Speech
"Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country."
"Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate."
"The torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans."
"The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavour will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world."
Context
John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, United States Capitol, Washington D.C., January 20, 1961. Delivered at -7°C. Watched by an estimated 20 million Americans on television. The phrase 'ask not what your country can do for you' was the result of months of revision
The Life and Legacy of JFK
President John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address | January 20, 1961
Process
Each Spoken State work begins with the speech. The text is transcribed, counted, and mapped to the geometry of the flag — word by word, colour field by colour field — before a single brushstroke is made.
1. The Aluminium Dibond is sized to the width of McGinty’s 30 year old T Square. The surface is lightly sanded, primed and 4 coats of gesso with a final two coats of Titanium White to create the the surface on which to work. The Surface becomes a drawing board.
2. This is the second American flag in the Spoken State series — a deliberate pairing that explores the gap between American aspiration (Kennedy, 1961) and American reality (King, 1963).
3. Hung facing each other in exhibition, the two American works create a dialogue: the promise of a nation from its president, and the demand that it live up to that promise from its people.
4. The same flag, reconstructed from two speeches given two years apart — each word in a different position, creating two different images from the same form.
Limited Edition Prints
The Original Flag Painting is scanned using a museum quality, high resolution Cruse scanner.
Limited edition museum quality archival prints are available, signed and numbered by the artist.
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