Bobbi Mastrangelo’s Artful Flag at Islip Museum Exhibit

The Islip Art Museum celebrates summer with an exhibition entitled Flag Day, on view in the museum galleries at Brookwood Hall, 50 Irish Lane, East Islip, NY:  June 15 through Sun. Sept. 4. 2011.  http://islipartmuseum.org/about.html

Flag Day was curated by Janet Goleas, an artist, gallerist and writer. The exhibit explores the way flags and banners convey attitudes, beliefs and emotions.

In conjunction with Flag Day, Goleas also curated an exhibition of artists works from the Museum’s Permanent Collection which depicted flags.

This is Mastrangelo’s work from the Islip Art Museum’s Permanent Collection

Eureka Trivia Flag

Bobbi’s friend, Dorothea Johnson sent her a picture of  The Eureka California Meter Cover  which had a bed of raised stars.  Jasper Johns’  series of American Flags motivated Mastrangelo to incorporate the Eureka Stars into three versions. The first version was a        print based on the actual scene of the starry meter iron  pit cover surrounded by bricks.

The second Eureka resembled an American Flag except the bed of stars included Eureka Water.

The third creation, pictured above was the most time consuming:  all the words were carved backwards into the linoleum block printing plate. This is the essence of the message:

 Eureka is a Greek word meaning I have found!, Exclamation of triumphant achievement, Motto of California.  Eureka, port city in NW California, Eureka College in Illinois: Ronald Reagan’s Alma Mater.

” EUREKA!”  exclamation uttered by a team of international water authorities when they discovered PURE WATER IN A REMOTE AREA OF NORTH AMERICA  in 2037.

The last four lines reflect my plea to keep our water pure. I met Dorothea on her Father’s 100 birthday.   My 100th birthday will be in 2037. (God Willing)

 Eureka, the Greek word associated with discovery recalls  not only the discovery of gold, but the discovery of so many amazing people, places and resources in these  United States of America.