Raising the Flag – Nature and Appearance of a Medium

The general use of flags is a symptomatic indicator of many societal issues, which in turn makes them both an exciting medium and a suitable object for artistic engagement. It is precisely this fact that made it possible to choose the flag itself as the theme for the project raising flags, without restricting the invited artists thematically.

The challenges posed by the pandemic from 2019 to 2022 have shown how extensively public spaces should be considered to better convey artistic content. The work at museum in progress constantly re-examines outstanding tasks and appropriate solutions for public spaces, which is why it seemed natural to introduce and implement this long-held idea at this point. The benefits of the flexible organisational structure of museum in progress as an institution and the direct, rapid execution of the project go hand in hand with a potentiated effect through the signal-like quality of the chosen medium. Pandemic times have passed, and new widespread threats occupy many of us. The medium we have chosen continues to confront the general situation with its content.

At the point where artistic work meets the perception of our societies, it carries both the responsibility and the privilege of drawing its creative potential from questioning and signalling societal processes, as well as from (self-)reflection, to move its environment – a moment to show the flag.

The nature of every flag is, by definition, its movement in the wind. raising flags presents flowing and constantly changing multidimensional aspects of a medium in motion with the displayed flags. Even the absence of wind and movement, which leads to stillness, is a natural phenomenon, and not only for these art flags, as it does not necessarily prevent the perception of a flag as such and its implicit signal from being perceived in motion.

In direct response to the wind, the variation of the viewing angle and the continuously changing appearance is determined by the movement of the flag. The phenomenology of its perception is thus constantly reformed. Through this ceaselessly changing, visually altering appearance, no identical moment is depicted. Rather, a reflection space in perpetual motion is evoked, which is less stolen from time but rather repeatedly brings the transmitted artistic signal to life and forms it into a fixed image.

The ongoing change in perception creates the impression of a signal that can only define its content through the impression of its modulation and must be perceived from ever new perspectives. The movement of the flag simultaneously sets the reflection of the signalled content in motion and invites us to observe and reflect upon the moving medium from new angles.

Kinetic works, which use moving images to convey their message, alongside many other forms of moving media that use dynamic, time-based elements such as video, film, animation, digital, or interactive elements, are as integral to art as the flag. A key shared aspect of many of these kinetic formulations lies in the morphology of their perception through repetition and variation.

“The difference is both the origin and the goal of repetition.” – Gilles Deleuze

From this fundamental phenomenology, the curatorial approach developed with a maximum of conceptual freedom for all involved. The continuous joint conceptual work unfolds through a discursive approach comparable to the movement of the medium, focusing on the flag as a living, mobile, and boundless sculpture – a moving medium. This morphological perspective shows how strongly this medium can subvert conventional artistic expectations and signal universal meanings.

At the edge of the potential urban image collapse, the flag’s medium allows a strong presence through its perception in motion. In the ceaseless motion of the flag works, a potentially never-ending process of observation and contemplation is at the forefront. The repeated representation of the once-perceived moment, experienced as a contingent piece of reality, in the presence of a moving flag, leads to a changed perception of its artistic signal. Instead of a linear grasping of the artwork, a moving, deepening resonance occurs, blending the before and after, as well as the perception and reflection of the moving art signal. In a similar way, Heraclitus dealt in the 3rd century with the theme of experiencing difference and repetition which directly relates to the prehistory of this project, located on the Vienna Stubenbrücke.

From the time of the installation of Lemurenköpfe (Lemur Heads), 2001, by Franz West on the Stubenbrücke, a remarkable relic remains. In 2007, Franz West had a Heraclitus quote attached to the northeastern bridgehead:

“For those who step into the same rivers, ever new waters flow to them, and ever new souls arise from the wet.”

Just as the river is the water that forms it, yet it is always different water that flows through it and makes it a river, so too are the appearance and form of the flag, and likewise the wind, always the same. Yet, it is always a new manifestation and fresh air that the wind brings – always in progress and in new reflection, to raise the flag. Heraclitus' insight was not that everything changes constantly, but rather that in the constant change and the shifting of the components of something, stability is achieved, and an identity of the thing itself becomes possible. This stability of change is what ultimately makes the (seemingly static) progression truly possible in a real sense.

Every flag is more than just a piece of cloth. The classification of the art flag as moving mediA implies movement as a motif even before the wind arrives. The movement is thus inherent in the object, suggesting the idea that flag signals in language and image are never static, but subject to continuous change. In this sense, repeated alteration does not signify monotony but rather a movement-enhanced reflection that makes every experience and reception always new and different.

The flag works become diverse triggers for emotions and reflections and invite us to question the power of signals and their interaction with the everyday environment and our perception of the world. In the larger context of public spaces and in juxtaposition with the other flag contributions, which are directly or indirectly in resonance with each other, it becomes possible to read the meaning of the medium anew.

The title raising flags implies the social-cultural act of raising a flag – in a broader sense, it creates inclusion signals in art. Raising a flag is a symbolic act that plays a significant role in many cultures and contexts. In political demonstrations, celebrations, ceremonial acts, both military and civilian, as well as in its territorial use, the exclusive function of flags becomes evident. When used for various forms of community, such as country, institution, or organisation, the flag excludes only those who do not belong to the signal at the moment of its hoisting. In a cultural-historical sense, the flag is thus an exclusive tool of communities. This exclusive moment of the flag is counteracted by raising flags. The act of raising a flag as a symbolic gesture takes a backseat, as raising flags, in the literal sense of "showing the flag", is not concerned with hoisting, but with displaying the flag. The shared reflection reverses the usual process of exclusion and becomes an inclusive act by inviting viewers to collectively raise the flag of art in their minds.

Moments of inclusion are sought in the centre of many societies and are also anchored in the UN's goals for sustainable development (UN Sustainable Development Goals, Goal 16: Promote just, peaceful, and inclusive societies, https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/peace-justice). Symbols or flags of an inclusive nature are not widely known beyond social and political initiatives such as protest and resistance. The phenomenon of the art flag presents itself, due to its functioning, as an ideal example of inclusive flags.

The often-dominant heraldic tradition is completely broken by raising flags. The localised nature of the flag medium is dissolved and used for transboundary questioning of societal content. Apart from the exclusions of territorial flags, the contributions to raising flags become inclusive calls in the universal wind of art perception.

raising flags – Showing the flag of art. The project, when viewed from a cultural-historical perspective, can be understood as a gesture in the sense of a deliberately employed action capable of replacing words to express a defined inner attitude. The artistic content of raising flags is a call for reflection and a societal question, a sublimated shorthand of various offerings. Raising the flag of art through these flags opens the opportunity to place inclusive questions in public spaces and invite joint reflection.

(Alois Herrmann, April 2025)