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25 April 2009

It's not often that a work of art leaves me speechless, but today, this one did.

post by: BoringPostcards at: 17:39 | 24 comments

Ouch.

posted by Doohickie 25 April | 18:27

I'm surprised it doesn't light up.

posted by MonkeyButter 25 April | 19:10

Was that done ironically or is it real kitsch?

posted by bunnyfire 25 April | 19:42

Oh, come on, don't act so shocked. Everyone knows God is an American.

posted by deadcowdan 25 April | 19:43

Needs glitter.

posted by gomichild 25 April | 19:47

≡ Click to see image ≡

posted by arse_hat 25 April | 20:04

@arse: Fan-frikin-tastik!

posted by MonkeyButter 25 April | 20:16

Buford Highway Flea Market - the Mecca of Kitsch.

PS: arse_hat wins the internets.

posted by deborah 25 April | 20:39

arse_hat is trying to kill me.

It's real kitsch, bunnyfire. I was also surprised at the amount of non-ironic confederate flag stuff I saw for sale, aimed at the latino guys. I'm not sure what to make of that.

posted by BoringPostcards 25 April | 20:41

Mmm. Needs an eagle, or maybe a coyote howling at a moon, or a Dallas Cowboys logo.

There's a dude who works somewhere in my building who drives an F-150 that has a custom deal down the sides that makes it look like someone tore back the body to reveal a RIPPLING AMERICAN FLAG!!11!!1 The back window is one big huge Arkansas Razorbacks logo, and it's got a custom plate that says HAWGFAN. I don't remember if it's got a yellow ribbon (or more likely, camo) on the back, but I wouldn't be surprised.

Every time I walk past it I wonder why I live here.

posted by middleclasstool 25 April | 20:53

Also seen in the same flea market, GOLDEN SNEAKERS:

≡ Click to see image ≡

Every time I walk past it I wonder why I live here.

Dude, shit, that IS why you live there. Or why I would, anyway.

posted by BoringPostcards 25 April | 21:00

I was also surprised at the amount of non-ironic confederate flag stuff I saw for sale, aimed at the latino guys. I'm not sure what to make of that.

Assimilation.

posted by jason's_planet 25 April | 21:55

Assimilation.

I think it's more like appropriation, which is interesting in its own right.

posted by BoringPostcards 25 April | 22:32

I think it's more like appropriation, which is interesting in its own right.

Not entirely sure I follow you, BoPo. Could you expand on that a little? Were they mixing the Confederate motifs with more traditionally Mexican stuff?

posted by jason's_planet 25 April | 22:59

arse_hat, I love that!!!

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 25 April | 23:10

Could you expand on that a little?

Sure. It was not mixing Mexican and Confederate images... we even saw a flag with a CSA motif and the slogan "The South Will Rise Again" for sale in one booth, where everything else was pure Mexico.

I think maybe they're just reproducing an image because they see it here in their new home, and it's "American" to them. They may not be familiar with its history, but it's a nice visual and is a part of their surroundings, so they're adopting it.

This is how symbols change meanings over time. Not saying that's happening here, yet, but it could. And dude, I can not TELL you how much I'd love it if the confederate flag became most familiar as a symbol of an immigrant population in the southeast. That would be karma at its finest.

posted by BoringPostcards 25 April | 23:31

And dude, I can not TELL you how much I'd love it if the confederate flag became most familiar as a symbol of an immigrant population in the southeast. That would be karma at its finest.

BP - have I ever told you how much I want to have your babies?

posted by deborah 26 April | 00:08

Hee. *hugs deborah*

posted by BoringPostcards 26 April | 00:55

we even saw a flag with a CSA motif and the slogan "The South Will Rise Again" for sale in one booth, where everything else was pure Mexico.

Dude, the south IS gonna rise again. And the Mexicans are gonna be the New Rebels!

posted by flapjax at midnite 26 April | 05:07

Hey, here's some more Georgia flea market pics (from a really big one off of I-20, between Atlanta and Birmingham) that I snapped on a visit down south in February:

≡ Click to see image ≡
≡ Click to see image ≡
≡ Click to see image ≡
≡ Click to see image ≡
≡ Click to see image ≡
≡ Click to see image ≡
≡ Click to see image ≡

posted by flapjax at midnite 26 April | 05:22

huh, some of those bras are pretty cute.

Also, that Jesus looks like something you'd see in the background somewhere in the video game Fallout.

posted by kellydamnit 26 April | 14:03

This is how symbols change meanings over time. Not saying that's happening here, yet, but it could. And dude, I can not TELL you how much I'd love it if the confederate flag became most familiar as a symbol of an immigrant population in the southeast. That would be karma at its finest.

Yeah, it would. But that flag has had some other, highly charged meanings for a century and a half, so I think that's a bit of an optimistic projection, there.

posted by jason's_planet 26 April | 17:50

Well, yeah, I wasn't expecting it to happen in our lifetimes, if it ever did. :)

posted by BoringPostcards 26 April | 17:54

BoringPostcards,

For some reason, I thought this was going to be a work of art that left you speechless in a good way.

posted by lukemeister 26 April | 23:34

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