We Won’t Stand for the Flag Until the Flag Stands for the People
[New York]: Np. ca. 1970. Item #5267
Silkscreen poster printed on the back of a Pullman Vacuum Cleaner ad, affixed to rice paper. Work 18 x 22 1/2 in. Framed 20 1/4 x 24 1/4 in. Very good condition, slight chipping to edges and pinholes in corners of original print.
This remarkable screenprint from anti-war activist and photographer Bill Stettner remains as relevant today as when it was produced. A popular poster image and slogan throughout the 1970’s anti-war and countercultural movements, it remains a contentious graphic today. Posted to an online forum of political posters in 2017, moderators ultimately deleted the image after comments took a violent and angry turn against those who might not stand for the American flag.
Stettner was a commercial photographer who was central to the fight for photographers to retain rights to their work. Though the revision of copyright law in the 1970s proved difficult for many photographers, for Stettner it hit hard; he was apparently blacklisted for his high profile role in the struggle. His final career was as a dealer in second hand goods, working at a store called The Garage Sale, located at Columbus Circle.
An important artifact of American struggles for freedom and against compulsary nationalism.
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