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11 Critical Criminology 1 (2002)

handle is hein.journals/ctlcrm11 and id is 1 raw text is: A Critical Criminology 11: 1-20, 2002. © 2002 Kluwer Law International. Printed in the Netherlands. ADVANCES IN CRITICAL CULTURAL CRIMINOLOGY: AN ANALYSIS OF REACTIONS TO AVANT-GARDE FLAG ART MICHAEL WELCH Criminal Justice, Rutgers University JOHN SASSI Sociology, Fordham University ALLYSON McDONOUGH Criminal Justice, Rutgers University Abstract. As a popular motif in American art, images of the United States flag remind citizens of the importance of culture in promoting patriotism. Still, the prevailing aesthetic commands a dignified representation of the Stars and Stripes, shunning political criticism and disrespect for the nation's most cherished emblem. Amid the controversy over flag burning in 1989, artist Dread Scott unveiled his work What is the Proper Way to Display the U.S. Flag? at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In that piece, the U.S. flag was placed on the floor of the gallery, inciting enormous public outrage. As a form of interactive art, Scott invited visitors to record their thoughts about the flag in a ledger book furnished at the exhibit. More than 1,600 messages were transcribed in the ledger book, thus becoming an intriguing source of unobtrusive data. This research explores societal reaction to Scott's artwork through a content analysis of the entries contained in the ledger book. While interpreting prominent themes fram- ing the conflict over flag desecration, this work contributes to a critical cultural criminology. In particular, the analysis brings to the forefront the significance of power, hierarchies, and social inequality driving criminalization campaigns aimed at controlling avant-garde flag art and political dissent. Blurring Crime and Culture: Avant-Garde Art as a Social Threat In the late 1980s, governmental and right-wing interest groups in the United States embarked on a campaign to police culture, especially avant-garde art perceived as a threat to so-called decent, moral society (Dubin 1992; Ferrell 1996; Watney 1987; also see Blanchard 1992). Among the works specifically targeted were those of gay photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, Latino artist Andres Serrano, and African-American artist Dread Scott.1 Mapplethorpe's photography included flowers and music celebrities, but it was his images of sexuality and gay desires that outraged moral guardians (Becker 1963). Sensing a political opportunity, many other political leaders joined the effort to criminalize avant-garde art; and in 1990, the director of the Contem-

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