US American values

Everything from glimpses into private living rooms all the way to political events – with the exhibition For Freedoms: Where Do We Go From Here?, the ICP Museum has taken various series by the For Freedoms collective granting glimpses into the every day life of US citizens, with the aim of questioning the current state of affairs.

With their work, the collective explores the poles between art and visual representation, orienting itself on its founding principles inspired by the Four Freedoms (1943) series of paintings by US artist Norman Rockwell. The oil paintings, that deal with the values spoken of by Franklin D. Roosevelt in his 1941 State of the Union Address, freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear, are embodied in stylized scenes of everyday life. The depictions illustrate the sense and purpose of the collective: to use images to provoke a socio-critical discourse about the current state of the country’s values. At the same time, the pictures have an aesthetic that references Rockwell’s iconic style.

In September 2018, For Freedoms launched a nationwide initiative, which brought together more than 150 artists and organisations, to found the largest socio-critical artists collective in the USA. With its activities, the 50 state initiative reinforces the idea that citizenship is defined by participation, and not by ideology.


Further information available at: ICP Museum