BRANDON RALPH - THE AMERICAN EXPERIMENT & STILL. AMERICAN
THE AMERICAN EXPERIMENT refers to Brandon Ralph’s ongoing work that considers the nation’s history, people, culture, and identity. It includes a collection of photographs, recently published as a hardcover monograph, a series of American flag sculptures, and a sequence of photographic collages that seek to articulate the endlessly diverse vernacular of a single country. Separate and together, they offer a wideranging, provocative exploration of the ideals and icons that represent America to the furthest ends of the earth. Within these images of our patriotic symbols, our vast and varied landscapes, and the tapestry of our humanity, Ralph poses the question: In a time of such turmoilsocial, political, artistic, economic, environmental–what does it mean to be an American?
In The American Experiment (WS Press, 2021), the answer is a finely wrought collection of land- and cityscapes, portraits, and spontaneous images captured over fifteen years. In Ralph’s starkly beautiful and unwaveringly sensitive pictures, viewers glean a sense of timelessness and optimism that speaks to the collective nostalgia which reinforces the shared American ideal, one where cultures collide, embrace in love for one another and this shared land, and melt together into a common humanity.
STILL. AMERICAN. Ralph’s sculptural depictions of the American flag explore both the physical object and its symbolism by using mix media to highlight the diversity that literally and figuratively holds the fabric of America together, reflecting the strength and resilience born of the cultures and perspectives that comprise our nation, resulting in flags that stand not only as symbols of patriotism but as testaments to the powerful role every citizen plays in shaping an everevolving American dream.