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Marc Tasman has spent much of the past year on a campaign to officially
change the design of the American flag to better reflect post-9/11 realities. On Friday October 12, 2007, he will unveil his work,
“Proposal for The New American Flag: Representing a New Constellation” at the Institute of Visual Arts (Inova/Vogel, 3253 N. Downer Ave), as part of an exhibition of work by seven artists who received Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Mary L. Nohl Fund Fellowships for Individual Artists in 2006. The opening reception, which is free and open to the public, will take place at Inova/Vogel on Friday, October 12, from 6-9 pm and will commence with a flag raising ceremony and parade which features Tasman's three and a half year old son singing The Star-Spangled Banner. Gallery hours are Wednesday-Sunday, noon to 5 pm. The Gallery will also be open on Gallery Night and Day, October 19 and 20.
Tasman’s didactic installation includes videos, posters, maps, letters to government officials, and hundreds of the new American flags ranging in scale from four inches to nine feet. Catalogue essayist Sarah Kanouse writes: “At a cursory glance, Tasman’s flag looks the same as the familiar Old Glory, but subtle changes—nineteen stripes to
reflect the naïveté of September 10, ninety-nine stars on the blue field—clue the viewer that the state of the Union has shifted. Tasman’s flag does more than materialize the supposed historical turning point of September 11, 2001. It makes visible in iconic form the beliefs that justify profound changes in far more significant pillars of our democracy: those civil liberties established in the bill of rights and human rights standards set by international law… Tasman offers it as an
opportunity to reconsider the complex relationship between the nation, its symbols, and its future.”
Pieces of the exhibition are documented at:
http://99starflag.comA condensed version of the Post story.
Mary Louise Schumacher's Journal Sentinel blog.
JS Online- Prized Possessions.A Scathing/Glowing Review in the Shepherd Express.
Frontpage Milwaukee post.
The Nation.
UWM Pathervision YouTube-Tasman Flag.
Susceptible to Images.
