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| Anti-Flag |
I have been thinking about what it would look like to combine a bunch of trigger symbols that create “anti” sentiments. It really started when observing the public recognition of the hatred represented by the confederate flag. Especially the unthreatening ways the confederate flag had inadvertently been used. Political figures have used the flag when campaigning in that part of the US, and Tom Petty had used it as a backdrop to enhance the feel of his 1980 tour.
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| Navajo Nation Flag |
This attempt has been inspired by many of the Navajo Nation chapter flags that I have seen while working on the rez in recent years. The circle aesthetic is the main derivation. I also was hoping to create a hierarchy of images that are seen in a way that unfolds slowly to reveal layers of symbols.
I don't come from this part of the country, and being from California the Confederate flag means little to me besides representing a few states, and a type of rebel mentality. It is interesting how quickly our vernacular will tilt and a word or a symbol become verboten. I can understand an outpouring of sentiment in all of the recent horrible shootings and violence, but it seems to me that we attribute too much emphasis on identifying a symbol to separate a problem. The gun is the problem, the flag is the problem, money is the problem, drugs are the problem, fast food is the problem—when it’s really a humanity problem.
The symbols only have the power we give them. In time, none of them may carry any cache at all. It's provocative how these become such hot buttons and are so divisive.
I don't come from this part of the country, and being from California the Confederate flag means little to me besides representing a few states, and a type of rebel mentality. It is interesting how quickly our vernacular will tilt and a word or a symbol become verboten. I can understand an outpouring of sentiment in all of the recent horrible shootings and violence, but it seems to me that we attribute too much emphasis on identifying a symbol to separate a problem. The gun is the problem, the flag is the problem, money is the problem, drugs are the problem, fast food is the problem—when it’s really a humanity problem.
The symbols only have the power we give them. In time, none of them may carry any cache at all. It's provocative how these become such hot buttons and are so divisive.
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