stunning public art installation from maryland that blankets 20 acres of grassy land across from the washington monument with small white flags. each one in the staggering display representing a life lost to covid-19. no matter where you stand, no matter how hard you try, you can't see them all. many of the flags are blank, but some of them bear messages from the loved ones of the dead. heartbreaking missives that remind you there's a person behind that flag, behind the grim parade of death fluttering all around you. when i first visited the memorial on september 17th, the first day of the exhibition, there were 670,032 flags. when i walked by there thursday morning, 17 days later, the tally of the dead had increased by 18,213. later that day, the number ticked above 690,000.