This was originally posted May 19, 2015. I thought you’d enjoy seeing it again.
Standing on the bridge, with sunlit tropical foliage all around, the wind kicks up and the flags overhead begin to flutter wildly. It’s at once both exciting and serene. A joyful moment!
This was my experience as I took in an installation of art flags.
They went up a few days ago, on the campus of Florida Tech, in Melbourne, FL. The effect is wonderful! The 20+ flags are suspended from the cross beams of this charming walking bridge. Approaching from the parking lot, you’re greeted with a peaceful message on the east end.
Click any image for a larger view.
Flags stretch the full length of the bridge.
Many artists chose bright colors, like my own orange ones, below.
Patterns and prints were also popular.
And a few critters.
The whole thing lifts your spirits.
These flags were made and installed in support and celebration of the Southern Accents art quilt exhibit, which just opened in the adjacent building. They were loosely inspired by similar flags found in Tibet. It is thought that the good wishes of each flag come true, as the flags fray and wear. Isn’t that lovely sentiment?
I LOVE these flags! I hope you get to see them.
Ellen Lindner
P.S. This post is on my old blog. There’s tons of good stuff on it, if you haven’t looked at it before.
P.P.S. Here’s another post about the art flag installation.
Are these flags still flying? Have they had the opportunity to fray and wear? Or were they removed for the next bit of excitement? Or did they become “precious” and too good to be allowed to deteriorate? Just curious.
Good questions, Suzanne. The flags stayed up for month. They looked quite good at the end of that time, although the lighter ones showed some smudges. The only real issue was some of the lightweight ones wrapping around the hanging wires. But then again, those were the same ones that flapped in the breeze so beautifully.
P.S. Suzanne, We never considered them precious and assumed they’d deteriorate while hanging. A necessary attitude for such projects, I think.
And yet it is difficult to watch something that you have spent a fair amount of time on deteriorate, isn’t it? Even if they were meant to be ephemeral, since fabric is “slow art,” it isn’t as though you dashed them off in an hour or less. And we who work in fiber are easy victims of “precious” thinking. Painters don’t buy paints and then just pet and gaze lovingly at them for years. They use them up and buy more. But who among US doesn’t own at least a few fabrics we are hanging on to until a project worthy of their wonderfulness comes along? In Asia, where the idea of these flags came from, many things are allowed to weather, decay, and frankly become unsightly. There is even reverence for the old and imperfect. Not so much here. I’m not intending to be at all critical. Just interested that our idea of the ephemeral means the thing will be removed and/or replaced before it looks worn while in another part of the world it means it will be left to literally disintegrate and disappear.
Yes, you’re right, Suzanne.
Good thoughts about letting things age. Perhaps that’s why so many US artists are enamored with old buildings, rust, and such. We don’t see that much of it every day, so when we do it piques our interest.
I once participated in a challenge entitled Urban Decay. I live in Naples, FL, and I only half jokingly said we don’t have urban decay. I resorted to using a photo I had taken elsewhere for inspiration.
I love your pojagi flags!