Alfredo Jaar: A Logo for America, 1987

A Logo for America premiered in April 1987 as part of the Public Art Fund’s exhibition series Messages to the Public, a groundbreaking initiative that commissioned artists to create animations for the Spectacolor board in Times Square. Jaar, who had moved to New York from his native Chile five years prior, opted to confront the normalized use of “America” when speaking of the United States. In Jaar’s view, this subconscious erasure perpetuates an imbalanced understanding of the relationship between the many countries that share the American continent. Displayed at a grand scale in an enclosed, dimly lit space within the gallery is a newly digitized version of the original animation. Exhibited publicly for the first time, the original storyboard drawings for the animation offer a rare glimpse into Jaar’s creative process, expanding the history of the work.

Throughout the gallery, the ensuing narrative of the work unfurls. Photographic suites, lightboxes, and videos document both the original iteration of the work and subsequent presentations, showing how Jaar has reimagined the animation for new forms of media and new contexts over the past four decades, including a barge off Miami Beach and modern television screens. Nearby, a selection of videos reveals how the concept and imagery of Jaar’s 1987 work have seeped into broader cultural and political consciousness. Together, the works on view offer a holistic view of A Logo for America and how it remains a poignant emblem for the ongoing reckoning with what constitutes American identity.