Kota Ezawa: National Anthem (in the BMA's Spring House)
California-based artist Kota Ezawa’s National Anthem (2018) is a meditation on patriotism and protest. The singlechannel animated video was inspired by the actions of quarterback Colin Kaepernick and other football players who took a knee, sat, raised fists, or locked arms during the national anthem to call attention to police brutality against unarmed black men and social injustice. Ezawa (b. 1969, Germany) creates work that explores and translates significant cultural events into simulations that question the authenticity of both our experiences and retold histories.