Matthew Wicker earned his BFA in drawing and sculpture from Bowling Green State University and his MFA in sculpture from Georgia State University. He currently teaches at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

“ Spangled” is the first piece that I made after the 9-11 attacks. Having been in Suffolk, England at the time, I had a strange distance to the events even though the emotions were as palpable as flesh. It was strange coming home. Everyone, myself included, was swept up in a general feeling of patriotism on the verge of jingoism. I made this piece amongst those times.