SPOKEN STATE - USA MLK
I Have a Dream
Martin Luther King Jr. · 1963
The Work
MEDIUM
Acrylic on Dibond aluminium
DIMENSIONS
915 × 482 mm (10:19 ratio)
COLOURS
Cadmium Red (Hue), Titanium White, Ultramarine Blue
SPEECH
I Have a Dream, 1963
SPEAKER
Martin Luther King Jr.
LOCATION
Lincoln Memorial, 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: March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, August 28, 1963
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, August 28, 1963, brought over 250,000 people to the National Mall — the largest political demonstration the United States had ever seen. It was the culmination of years of civil rights activism: sit-ins, freedom rides, voter registration drives, and the violent response of Southern states to each of them.
Martin Luther King Jr. spoke last. His prepared remarks were powerful but it was the improvised section — 'I have a dream' — that electrified the crowd and the nation. The words, drawn partly from previous speeches and sermons, arrived with the force of prophecy.
The speech was delivered less than a year before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and two years before the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It remains the defining statement of the American civil rights movement — and a rebuke of America's failure to live up to its founding ideals.
King was assassinated on April 4, 1968. The speech is now part of the fabric of American life, taught in schools, quoted by presidents, inscribed on monuments. Its power lies in its refusal to accept the gap between America's promise and its reality.
The Speech
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
Context
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C., August 28, 1963. Delivered to 250,000 marchers and broadcast live on national television. The phrase 'I have a dream' was largely improvised, departing from the prepared text.
King In The Wilderness: The Last Years of MLK Jr.’s Life – Full Film
Martin Luther King Jr: Risked Life for Civil Rights Movement | Biography
Martin Luther King - I Have A Dream Speech - August 28, 1963
The March - A Documentary about the 1963 March on Washington
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. The Stars and Stripes is the most geometrically complex flag in the series — 50 stars, 13 stripes, a distinct blue canton. Text was mapped separately across each stripe, with the stars presenting the greatest compositional challenge balancing the text.
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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