Today is Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican holiday that is celebrated more in the United States than in its country of origin: a Mexican-American holiday more than either a Mexican or American one. How can Mexican-American-ness be expressed through flags? Most commonly, of course, the Mexican flag is used for this purpose, often in conjunction with… Continue reading Mexican-American Flags
Tag: National Flags
Flags of the Vietnam War
On this 40th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, here is a look at some of its flags. The flag of Vietnam, a large yellow star on a field of red, has a simple, bold design. Designed in 1940 for an uprising against French colonial rule, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed it the flag of the… Continue reading Flags of the Vietnam War
Armenian Flags
100 years ago today the Armenian Genocide began at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. In honor of Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, a look at Armenian flags: The Armenian tricolor was created by the government of the First Republic of Armenia, based on the colors of the late Rubenid Dynasty (red, blue, and yellow), with yellow… Continue reading Armenian Flags
Self-Similar Flags
The the popular meme shows, the flag of Norway is the "mother of flags". It doesn't, however, contain itself (unless you don't care about the relative widths of the white and blue parts to the whole). In other words, it is not self-similar. A less-popular meme points out one national flag that has this property:… Continue reading Self-Similar Flags
Vancouver Oil Spill Flag
Yesterday the MV Marathassa, a Cypriot-flagged bulk carrier on its maiden voyage, spilled toxic oil into English Bay near downtown Vancouver, BC. Today a version of the Vancouver city flag protesting this event appeared on Twitter: The idea of modifying Canadian flags to protest environmental damage from oil has been done before, though perhaps not as… Continue reading Vancouver Oil Spill Flag
Reuniting Good Luck Flags with Families
Hinomaru yosegaki (日の丸 寄せ書き, literally "sun-circle sideways-writing") were "Good Luck Flags" carried by Japanese soldiers in World War II. Given to him by a soldier's close friends and family, these flags united the national (in the form of actual Japanese flags) with the intensely personal (in the form of handwritten messages from the gift givers). A non-profit named… Continue reading Reuniting Good Luck Flags with Families
Evolution of the Canadian Shield
The US flag changed as states were added, with additional white stars appearing in the blue union to symbolize the growth of the country. (Wikipedia has a nice table illustrating the historical progression of the 28 different designs.) Meanwhile, to the north, our Canadian neighbors were changing their flag in an analogous way as their country… Continue reading Evolution of the Canadian Shield
Transforming Transnational Flags
Here are two more fascinating YouTube videos exploring the relationships between national flags. Their creator goes only by the name Vexillographer. "Transforming Transnational Flags" by Vexillographer, published 11 March 2012. 30 national flags. Produced in Microsoft PowerPoint. "Construction Paper World Flags" by Vexillographer, published 16 February 2015. 22 national flags. A mistake: "You might… Continue reading Transforming Transnational Flags
Nathan Hoang’s Epic FOTWANDIPUB
In 2010 Nathan Hoang, aka The Moosehead, aka DisasterPieceTheatre, while recovering from a knee injury and inspired by the flags appearing in TV coverage of the FIFA World Cup, created Flags of the World: A Non-Digital Interactive Pop-Up Book. He then filmed himself (presumably) opening each page and showing its interactive magic, all set to music (appropriately enough, the… Continue reading Nathan Hoang’s Epic FOTWANDIPUB
Art Warning the World
Art Warning the World is a collaborative online manifesto of sorts created by New York-based French artist Klaus Guingand and 201 collaborators, each in a different country. The work centers around Guingand's prophetic warning: Quand le mot liberte disparaitra des dictionnaires il sera trop tard pour regir. (Which he translates as: When the word freedom ceases… Continue reading Art Warning the World
Portland Flag Association 