192 National Flags
Michael Euyung Oh
Curated by: Reid Shier
192 National Flags consists of one hundred ninety two images of individually framed flags of the United Nations (UN), ranked from 1 to 192, according to the artist’s aesthetic judgment.
Reminiscent of modernist abstract paintings, each flag reflects on a nation’s utopian ideals and artistic sensibilities. Transcending politics of nationalism and regionalism, the work examines issues of aesthetics, while questioning the nature of taste in artistic discourse.
Are there objective canons of taste? Are aesthetic judgments purely subjective, inter-subjective or even universal? Can such judgments be true or false, and how, if at all, can they be justified? Who has the authority to decide what is good art and what is bad art?