Flags, Color, and the Legal Narrative

This chapter explores philosophical and semiotic considerations pertaining to the relation between word and color and some of its social effects in four steps. 1. Flag. A first step concerns the flag as a social symbol made by fixed varieties of colors. Its colors refer to social patterns, in Occidental culture formatted along the classical theory of social contract and its individualistic, mechanistic and rationalistic features. Displacement and togetherness seem deeply engraved in the mind of the flagging individual(s), a mind often at far distance from any specific flag-event. 2. Colors. The second step is on colors and the slogan ‘colors like words’. The central question regards the words, which should serve as a parallel to colors. If a color depends on a linguistic expression, then the basis of that expression is important for color and color-experience. 3. Speech. The third paragraph emphasizes the study of the word by means of considering ‘speech’. Basic is the difference between langue and parole. ‘Word’ understood as langue functions in the slogan ‘colors like words’ whereas ‘word’ understood as parole is neglected. ‘Speech’ as the context for ‘word’ is therefore researched as a source of word–color semantics. 4. Digit. ‘From langue to parole’ is not a single static path amidst differing contexts. Recent mutations concern digital language as a future global context: (a) names play a new and different role in digital language structures, as the Internet and its multiple use of names and passwords daily demonstrates; (b) codes, in particular color codes, function like words and texts, as the website ‘electronic color code’ suggests; (c) communication unfolds beyond the limits of human will and attention; (d) the concept of O/other, the most vital component of human life and communication, does not remain unchanged in a life based on digits.

The symbolic functioning of flags is related to many large topics in philosophy and in social sciences. My interest here is in the dialectics of how flags mean. Flags are polysemic and ambiguous, a kind of symbolic nodes grouping several layers of signification. Flags are not images, though, but objects made to be used not contemplated. Once raised, flags may talk. But what they say when talking depends upon the modes of use in communal practices. When used, flags contribute to the staging of an event. They are performative utterances in a specific situation. The paper begins with a short review of modern discourses on the nexus between light, colour, and emotion as unreflective forms of perceiving the world. Drawing upon studies on the contemporary production and reproduction of ways of seeing the chapter then explores in greater detail specific aspects of the dialectics of sense-making through flags. Aside from symbolising as well as iconic and spectacular modes of use banal forms of performance are taken into account. Once there, flags are signs of their own context. What they promote, the paper suggests, is not unity but configurations of common differences. Finally, the article addresses the role of flags for the assemblage of cultural identities of populations connected by digital media and the formation of society in the age of globalisation.

In the passage of the Course in General Linguistics where Ferdinand de Saussure first foresaw the necessity to develop a new discipline called “semiology”, “nautical flags” are prominently listed among its objects of inquiry. Flags, indeed, are naturally interesting objects for semiotics, not only because they signify through a systematic display of forms and colors, but also because of the specific pragmatics of such display. A flag can be thought of abstractedly, as an array of symbols, but it features also a specific materiality, wherein two elements particularly stand out: (1) the flag is generally a textile; (2) this textile is meant to interact with a natural element, the wind. Flags are so symbolically important also because they seem to acquire an individual agency when they wave in the wind, and therefore to confer this autonomous agency to the cultural ideas which they stand for. The paper investigates this particular semiotics in relation to opposite ideological usages of the Italian national flag, meant to signify an either inclusive or exclusive identity.

This paper is a semiotics analysis of national symbols, especially national flags, seeking to insert its emergence in the context of the formation of the modern National States. The methodological approach is critical and interdisciplinary, capitalising on the contributions of Semiotics, History, Sociology and Philosophy. The flag of Brazil is analysed in a detailed manner, as a complex symbol, formed of shapes, colours, natural elements and words. From the historical point of view, the flag of Brazil is a symbol, which safeguards the past of the Brazilian Empire inside the symbol of the Republic of Brazil. From the semiotic point of view, one can see in the plan of expression a set of symbols, which allows us to realise the level of significance, there lying the dialectical conflicts of the history of Brazil. From the point of view of the current political scene, it seeks to analyse the new and main role played by the national flag, in its re-emergence among many demonstrations, and the rebirth of nationalism, within the context of economical, moral and political crises. This allows us to assess the meaning of Brazilian modernity and its future challenges.

As we advance into the twenty-first century, more and more of what has once been crucial to the functioning of a society, slides into oblivion. However, certain agents of the past, carriers of social memory, prevail. One such an agent is the flag. More than just a mere symbol, the flag bears an opulent amount of meaning, sometimes accumulated over the centuries, at other times acquired overnight, evoking either love and pride, fear and contempt, or just indifference. The purpose of this paper is to analyse flags as carriers of collective memories and of local and national identity, and to compare various legal provisions controlling and protecting them. In the first part of the paper, the author introduces the concept of collective memory, showing how flags—carriers of memory—are connected to it. The second part of the paper is devoted to the questions of identity and national identity, and the ways they intersect with collective memories and, ultimately, flags. In the third, main part of the paper, the author ventures to examine the role of flags in the contemporary society. Applying the findings of the previous two chapters to a number of mini-case studies (Poland, Brazil, Australia, Greece, USA, various former USSR territories, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Hungary, Cyprus and Canada), the author shows how different societies hold different attitudes towards flags and how, even in a digital society we currently live in, such a material thing as a flag is vital for the creation of a group’s identity, and can still evoke deep and often completely conflicting feelings, even leading to conflict.

Both the flags of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China’s (ROC) have the colour red; however, red represents different meanings on both flags. The colour red on the ROC flag represents “fraternité” originated from the French Revolution. The colour red on the PRC flag is from the flag of The Soviet Union, which the colour red is originally the colour of the flag of La Commune de Paris. There have been many incidents involving the desecration, burning or damaging of the national flag of the Republic of China (ROC, 中華民國) over the years. In Taiwan, some people think that the ROC has ceased to exist since 1949, and that the ROC can no longer represent Taiwan and the KMT (the Nationalist Party, Kuomintang) is controlled by the PRC. They use flag desecration as a means to attack one China policy and the PRC. In this paper, I will explore the reason why the ROC national flag has been targeted in Taiwan, and question whether or not damaging the flag is really a meaningful and successful way to attack both the ROC and the PRC. Furthermore, I will explain how protesters attack the PRC by attacking the ROC flag by way of a discussion of the colour code of both national flags. In addition, I will discuss the meaning of the red on both flags, and I will also explain why an attack on the ROC flag, based on the colour of the ROC and PRC flags, is not a successful way to attack the PRC.

This paper aims to find the commonness in tangible-intangible cultural heritage among the three flags (South Korea, North Korea, Unification) as a means for uniting Korea. Accordingly, theories of emotions, colours and shapes, including semiotic interpretations are its methodology. Semiotics offers flexibility in finding the commonness between the three flags in different situations and describes the process of encoding and decoding as an interpretative framework. Decoding interprets and evaluates the meaning concerning the relevant signs, which are systems of related conventions for correlating signifier and signified in specific domains. (i) The South Korean flag has three parts composed of a white rectangle, a red-blue circle, Taeguk, and four black trigrams. White is a traditional colour of representing peace and purity; the red-blue circle in the middle is the Yin-Yang philosophy of the universe. The red half is positive forces and the blue half negative ones. In 1882, King Kojong of the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910) instructed a circle which combines the red/king, blue/officer and white/people. (ii) The North Korean flag consists of a red panel, bordered by a white stripe and a blue stripe. The red panel contains a red star, a symbol of communism and socialism within a white circle. The red expresses revolutionary traditions; the blue for sovereignty, peace and friendship; the white for purity. (iii) The Unification flag represents a united Korea as one team in sports events. On the white background, a blue silhouette of the Korean peninsula appears in the centre.

After an outline of the history, design and uses of the Australian flag, this paper considers the media frenzy and public outcry surrounding the publication of research findings identifying a relationship between the flying of Australian flags on cars for Australia Day and racist attitudes. While the findings did not surprise many social scientists, given the semiotics of the flag and its increasing use as a symbol of exclusion, they were apparently highly contentious for portions of the Australian public. This paper describes and analyses the public reaction using three case studies from among the hundreds of examples. An email, a blog discussion, and a newspaper article, are analysed to demonstrate overlapping themes focussed on racism, patriotism, and nationalism. The chapter concludes that the publicity flagging the relationship between flag use and exclusionary nationalism actually may have worked against the goal of producing a considered debate about appropriate forms of nationalism and flag use, delivering the flag into the hands of exclusionary nationalist.

This chapter first examines the history and role of the Bulgarian flag in the constitution of Bulgarian national identity, a process which began in the second half of the nineteenth century. It then proposes a semiotic model of the identity, one that centers its constructed character and flexibility while performing social interactions. A basic divide between the communicative resources of the self places a person’s individual characteristics in opposition to collective ones. The national flag and colors are interpreted among the expressive forms of the collective identity, in the subcategory of constitutive features for which an individual has no choice. An interpretation of the value flows for identity in social intercourse follows, modeled as an “ego economy” where the reception and production of recognition from and for others is seen as an “ego currency”. This model demonstrates that the particular efficacy of national symbols is amplified by the efficacy of the “nationalist libido”. The use of the nationalist flags, colors, symbols, and narrative in new media thus prepare a fertile ground for the emerging digital populism, one that is masterfully employed by right-wing figures with significant political results and disquieting prospects for the future.

This chapter looks at the role of flags as national symbols in Hungary. It does so through three case studies. The first flag discussed is the current national colours (red, white and green). It is followed by the so-called ‘Árpád stripes’ (red and white), the colours attributed to the first royal dynasty of Hungary. Finally, the flag of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, is examined from a historical perspective, with special focus on its relationship with the national colours.

Identity and the protection of identity due to the historical turmoil experienced by the nation of Poland has always played an important role in the public and private lives of its citizens. During the course of history Poland also served as an exile and home for many minorities, both religious and ethnic. The country, which is located between the two powerful nations of Germany and Russia, has always been forced to fight for independence and its national identity. In the course of history the country disappeared from the maps of Europe for about 123 years as a result of the partition of its territories between Prussia, Austria and Russia. The invading countries occupying the annexed territory forbade the usage of the Polish language in numerous areas of life. The practising of Polish customs and traditions was also limited. Poland regained independence after numerous attempts in 1918, only to lose it again in 1939 and finally to have it re-established in 1945. But the period from 1918 until 1939 was marked with numerous activities aiming at the restoration of national identity. The main aim of this presentation is to provide some insight into the importance of national identity as well as the cultural, ethnic and religious diversity of Poland as a historically conditioned phenomenon. The language protection policy will also be examined.

This essay endeavours to explore our time of ‘Law &…’ (and its stimulating boundary disputes) from the perspective which national flag narratives—and their typifying regimes, associated with plausible models or paradigms of nation—allow us to experience, whilst projected onto (or within) the Law’s (or a certain Law’s) identifying narratives. Even though concentrated on a specific exemplum—the one of the current Portuguese flag (which emerged out of the successful Republican revolution of 1910)—this proposal is less however a justification of a new, plausible, interdisciplinary trend (involving ethno-symbolic studies), than a consideration of the ‘Law’s place’ in our present-day practical-cultural context, whilst reflecting on the possibilities and limits of hetero-references in general and “Law &… movements” in particular.

All states have a flag, the material symbol of their sovereignty. But in law, the status of this flag differs from one country to another: some incorporate it into their Constitution (France), others do not (U.S.A., Great Britain) and the protection against insults differs from one country to another. The legal status of the French flag has varied over an eventful history, but today the constitutional recognition of the symbol and its legal protection allow the strong representation of French sovereignty and the rights to which the nation is attached. However, the flag of the European Union competes with the French flag. In conclusion, the flag is both sacred and competitive, as it is the national anthem, which is given constitutional protection in France.

Scotland is to the United Kingdom what the Saltire is to the Union Flag. What it means to be Scottish, what form Scottish identity takes, and how the narratives of Scottish identity and belonging have been constructed and have evolved over time is a story woven into the relationship between these two flags. One a symbol of national identity and the other the symbol of a much larger intranational unity, the history of their coming together is one of negotiated settlement, legal and political compromise, a balancing of competing claims for legitimacy and control over the historical discourse. This chapter explores the origin of the Saltire as the national flag of Scotland, its emergence in symbolic representation of resistance to English power and domination, and the struggle between these two nations that is mirrored in the eventual configuration of the Union Flag. The chapter then traces the shifting contours of the social, cultural, and political landscape of Scotland through various narrative ideologies to demonstrate how the contemporary debate over national identity is symbolised in the complex colour-coded representations of these two flags.

The “circle of twelve golden stars on a blue background” initially adopted by the Council of Europe in 1955, was gradually embraced by the European Union (EU) institutions and now is a widely known symbol of the EU, both within and outside of its external borders. Its widespread use was supposed to support the construction of “European identity” in addition to the existing national identities of the peoples of Europe. The present chapter explores the history and semantics of the European banner in order to appreciate its reception by the European citizens. Drawing from the historical circumstances of its adoption, the chapter then proceeds with the discussion on the use of the “EU flag” in two non-EU countries: Moldova and Serbia. A brief overview of the historical and current political contexts in these jurisdictions explores whether the use of the European symbol in these countries contributed to the “unity in diversity” as the motto of the EU suggests.

Flag use by far-right demonstrators at the 2017 Unite the Right rally is similar to historical flag use in public demonstration by antidemocratic groups seeking to deprive others of equal democratic rights, such as the Nazi Party between 1920 and 1945 and American segregationists during the Civil Rights Movement in the mid-twentieth century. This sort of flag use brings democratic values such as free speech and equal protections into conflict. Since World War II, international democratic norms have shifted to emphasize human dignity and equality, even if it requires limitations on free speech. Germany’s constitutional order is designed to protect democracy from antidemocratic groups in part by criminalizing display of flags representing them. Meanwhile, free speech absolutism in the United States makes it exceedingly difficult to impose legal sanctions for flag use, allowing flags that are in fact hate speech to masquerade as protected political speech.

The chapter provides semiotic analysis of national flags in Russia in historical perspective and describes legal regulation of the use of flags as state symbols on federal and federal entities’ levels. Contemporary white-blue-red national flag, Soviet red flag and imperial black-yellow-white flag are analyzed in different contexts, as official state symbols and as unofficial symbols of different political movements; the evolution of their meaning with time is shown. Subjects of the Russian Federation also have their flags, which reflect their aspiration for self-identification and sovereignty within the limits of common political identity of the nation. The right to establish their own official symbols is a part of their constitutional status, and they realize this right for the construction of their regional identity within the semiotic space of Russia as a whole.There is no unityUnity in approaches to the fixation of the legal status and description of flags on the level of federal entities, though main legal rules concerning the use of flags and subordination between the national flagFlag National flag and the flags of federal entities are stipulated by the federal law. Most of regional flagsFlag Regional flag have been created since 1991, because these regions had no status of federal subjects before that. By their visualRepresentation visual representation the flags differ depending on the cultural and historic characteristics of the regions. Some of them resemble the regional coat of armsCoat of arms , some of them try to follow the federal model by using bars of different color, some include religious symbols. Legal regulationRegulation legal regulation of the use of flags includes constitutional standards, statutory standards and also provisions of criminal and administrative law on desecration of flags and on inappropriate use of the national flag, which may humiliate or publicly demonstrate disrespect for it. The judicialPractice judicial practice in application of these standards is, however, confusing, because the provisions lack legal certainty.

A single red disc on a white background, Hinomaru is among the world’s simplest and most recognisable flags. Appearing regularly at courts and government buildings, on certain national holidays outside post offices or police boxes, in the face-paint of sports fans, and on souvenirs for a burgeoning tourist market, for most young Japanese it is an unremarkable badge of identity. It was not always so. Despite employing symbolism going back over a millennium and a half, the flag was treated with caution in the years following the Pacific War, with many citizens echoing the view of their Allied occupiers that its acceptability as a symbol of local pride had been compromised by its imperial associations. Hinomaru was finally accorded legal recognition in 1999, but attempts to use it to enforce patriotism can arouse controversy even today, suggesting that the country is far from united over the diverse narratives of nationalism it invokes. Beyond Japan, the Asahi form of the flag with its expanding sunrays remains particularly contentious.

The tricoloured flag India adopted in 1947 to mark its independence from Britain, the Tiraṅgā, results in fact from the combination of four elements whose official and popular semiotics has traversed several waves of negotiations during the decades preceding the foundation of contemporary India. Three of these elements are its equally sized, horizontal colours: saffron, white, and green; theirs is a chronicle of embeddedness in both confessional and secularist narratives which had shaped ancient and modern India, whereby the colour at the top—the saffron—best testifies to the intensity of and controversies surrounding mentioned narratives. Related struggles are subsumed under the choice to replace the 1921/1931 spinning wheel (charkha) with the blue-stained Ashok/Dharma Chakra, the “Wheel of Law”. Significant legal accounts coalesce indeed into the Tiraṅgā, from both spiritual-philosophical and positivistic standpoints. Despite conveying a supposedly ethnicity-neutral identity, the Chakra is often replaced with sectarian symbols by “minority” movements when they protest against the Hindu majority’s legislative radicalism.

This Chapter investigates the role of national symbols especially the national flag in possession of every nation and its uniqueness with relation to its structure, function and designDesigns . The focus of this chapter is to analyse the distinctive features of the Indian FlagFlag Indian flag given the existence of vast ethnic, religious and cultural diversity in India. By tracing the evolution of the tri colour flag, the author proposes to discuss as to how the Indian FlagFlag Indian flag has transformed through various phases starting from the pre independence struggleStruggles from the British Rule to the post independence era. The Flag CodeFlag Flag code of India, 2002 which unites together all such laws, conventions, practices and instructions for the guidance and benefit of all concerned relating to the display of flags has been discussed at length in this chapter.

The Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is constituted of a small peninsula plus two connected islands located on the south coast of China, at the Pearl River Delta across from Hong Kong. Based on its Basic Law, the Macau SAR has been afforded a number of “special” features under the so-called “One Country, Two Systems” principle, including authorization to exercise a high degree of autonomy and to enjoy executive, legislative and independent judicial power locally, while also being enabled to participate in relevant international organizations and international trade agreements. Macau is thus a unique glocal player in the world, as also reflected in its right to use a regional flag and regional emblem in addition to the national flag and emblem of the PRC.To exemplify its unique character and to better highlight its identity, this chapter briefly describes written legal sources underlying the existence, context and use of the Macau regional flagFlag Regional flag as well as related symbols. By way of a synaesthetic exploration, the paper later complements written and visual representations of the Macau SAR by a short excursus into aspects that can only be explored by other Other sensory channels, such as smell and taste. This is to highlight the paradox Paradoxes that sometimes a picture says more than a thousand words and vice versa, yet both are insufficient to grasp the full extent of the complexity of reality as we perceive it.

With a sociosemiotic perspective, this paper intends to analyze how the Five-star Red Flag embodies the identity of the People’s Republic of China as a country and the Chinese people as a nation. This paper first analyzes the social, cultural and historical factors that give birth to the five-star Red Flag and discusses the meanings of the semantic and syntactic structure of signs used in the national flag, including the colors of red and yellow and the shapes and interrelationships of stars. With authentic examples, incidents and cases, this paper also analyzes the use, misuse and desecration of the national flag. This paper concludes that as a symbol of the country and the nation, the Five-star Red Flag is not only a crucial means to unite the Chinese people, but also an important ambassador, telling the world the story of China as a country longing for unity, harmony and stability.

The visual identity of a Nation uses culturally color codes and images that conceal assumptions about members of a people comprising a nation, or a people within a nation. Flags are really important symbols. However, the identity of a people is also visible in urban fabric and clothing being used by Officials either for official visits or for commercial events. Therefore, this chapter considers the complexity and diversity in the building of a common memory not only with flags, but more precisely with the colors being used under such events.

The essay analyzes the history of the Italian Tricolore and its synesthetic transmutation in culinary symbols, specifically Pizza Margherita. The process of this inter-semiotic transduction of the Italian national flag involved, as its semiotic means, the unbalanced and, in many respects, discriminatory geo-political strategy that gave rhythm to the Unification of Italy in 1861. The ambiguous significance of Pizza Margherita, simultaneously a symbol of national reconciliation and of the cultural identitarian edge between the North and South of the country, is connoted, furthermore, by the geographically widespread origins of its ingredients. These global roots constitute a sort of prophecy of the subsequent planetary dissemination of this recipe and the transfigurations of its Italian-ness along the routes travelled by Italian migrants. The synesthetic shifting of the Italian Tricolore performed the role of vehicle of re-semantization in foreign lands, and distinctly in the USA. It re-enacted the ethnic-political conflict epitomized in the colors of the flag so as to produce a geo-political continuum with the homeland, dramatically conveyed by the mediation of Cosa Nostra in its collaboration with Allied Forces landing in Sicily during the Second World War. All the subsequent history of Italy and its relationships with the US have been influenced by this semio-spatial continuity going so far as to change the current political signification of the Tricolore for all Italians.Through the experiential spectrum of this story, the essay aims to explore, respectively, the semiotic phenomenology of flags, the synesthetic transmutation of their colors, their semantic-spatial (chorological) transmutations and the related range of socio-political and legal implications.

The rainbow flag has, over time, become a widespread and almost universally known sign for the gay community. It testifies to a visibility gained in many countries in recent decades, and even if it remains relative and fragile, it constitutes an appropriation of public space by homosexuals. More tolerance and openness certainly characterize the current context of Western societies especially in urban areas, but it would be wrong to confuse public visibility of homosexuals, still relative, and social progress, still chaotic, when it comes to their rights. Neither coming out, nor pride marches with rainbow flags, nor subversive performances can deconstruct the heterosexual norms that govern the public space and challenge the hierarchies that exist there. Furthermore, in recent years the figure of the rainbow has been rejected by radical gay groups that consider it a symbol of a collective, commodified, and a priori white identity, consenting minimum consideration to diversity. The rainbow flag stands today at a crossroad were its semiotic function as index, symbol, and icon, according to Pierces terminology, is being challenge from all sides.

Flag of Compassion is an ongoing conceptual artwork, initiated in 2002. It explores how an artwork can activate ethical questions within the field of the arts as well as in society as a whole. The Flag is a symbol of the notion of compassion with which everyone can share their own understanding of compassion. The artwork consists out of various elements: the word ‘compassion,’ an instrument ‘the Flag,’ a Manifesto, a foundation managing the artwork ‘the Unda Foundation,’ a distribution network and a website. www.flagofcompassion.com .This chapter comprises the Public Declaration of Flag of Compassion, the Manifesto Flag of Compassion and an Afterword by the Artist. The Public Declaration states how Flag of Compassion is a new art form, a new form of public space and a new form of monument. The Manifesto Flag of Compassion is a proclamation written from the perspective of the Flag. In the afterword, the artist, Rini Hurkmans, elaborates on the Declaration and Manifesto as she substantiates her motives, intentions, design and the choice for a flag. She clarifies how Flag of Compassion functions outside the conventions of normal flags and how a common memory is built with a flag that calls for personal definitions. With this artwork, she wants to create space in which different voices and positions can be articulated and made visible. It is an art form that makes heterogeneity not only seen and heard but also effective. It is effective because it reveals the different ways in which people interpret the concept of compassion as well as what they have in common. The Flag functions as an interruption of assumptions and challenges to (re)define positions that have been taken.

The focus of this chapter is on how the state has mediated and adjudicated the harms of the Stolen Generations, and the ways these harms have been framed—and claimed—under the national state imaginary of Australia. In 2019, these harms have still not been resolved, even under the compromised terms of the state, as no federal reparations scheme is in place. Although the Aboriginal flag is often displayed by the government in ‘Sorry Day’ events as a sign of solidarity with Indigenous people, and during events that marked the National Apology to the Stolen Generations (Parliamentary Debates, 2008) (‘The Apology’), and its recent ten-year anniversary, this chapter argues that state adjudication and marking of past harms are moments in which the state asserts its authority against Indigenous people. I am then interested in the unique potential of the engagement of representation to address an urgent area of postcolonial law and politics—taking the significance and role of Aboriginal authority in the context of Australian state law that refuses encounters with Indigenous sovereignties and laws as the central case study. In this context, how do we undertake the important ethical and political work of properly marking the absences and elisions of state law? How do we create spaces beyond ‘the national’ in which to undertake the important work of encounters that take place without state recognition? This chapter focuses on practices of representation as being central to responding to these questions—and on representation as being central to the interpretation of authority. It examines how, in the legal domain, the state reads the genres and narratives of Aboriginal law, and how literature provides a domain from which to analyse, critique and challenge these practices. Engaging exemplary counter-texts in this critical mode provides a way to challenge law’s forms and logics, creating spaces that are neither purely legal nor purely literary.

This essay examines how civic and aristocratic flags could embody such notions as identity, authority, honor, and shame in late medieval and renaissance Italy. It looks at legal measures for handling and displaying the civic flag; ritual contexts from executions, award ceremonies, to military triumphant parades; and materiality to explain the fascination exerted by flags as exponents of secular heraldry. Textual evidence (chronicles, city statutes, official records) brings Perugia (central Italy) to the fore as a middling-size city representative of the communal (i.e. guild-based or republican) regimes of Italy in the thirteenth–sixteenth centuries. Images that evoke vexillological [from Latin vexillum, flag] uses are critically assessed to decipher artistic conventions.

This chapter examines Jasper Johns’s Flag paintings. It argues, contrary to the prevailing critical assumption that the flags are aesthetic objects without reference beyond the art work, the narrative of art history and John’s oeuvre, that they have a political and ideological dimension. In particular, Johns’s flags engage with the iconic and historical significance of the American flag through exposing the transience and multiplicity of its meanings for the spectator. The chapter underlines the tensions and contentions invested in Johns’s flags through analysis of the artist’s use of gray paint.

This text proposes to read The Large Glass or The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (1915–1923) as the hidden expression of the butchery of the Great War. Through the analysis of the imagesImages that compose it, their iconography Iconographies and style, it seeks to test the hypothesis that Duchamp’s work is a response to the propaganda that made possible the sacrifice of so many lives. Contrary to the claim of Duchamp’s detachment from the war, it is argued that the massive and unnecessary loss of millions of lives was for him a moral abjection. He reacted to it by constructing the Glass which he describes in the notes contained in the Green Box (1934)—itself a version of the Glass in a linguistic, conceptual shape—as a “well-oiled” engine and an “agricultural machine”. Such qualifiers emulate the vocabulary of the Army in relation to its firepower. The Glass is made of two parts, on the lower half is the “Bachelor MachineBachelor-Machine ,” on the upper half the “Bride.” Duchamp’s descriptions of the Bachelor MachineBachelor-Machine are replete with vocabulary referring to weapons used during WWI, combined with words related to consumer goods which were sent to the soldiers on the battlefront, such as chocolate bars and bottles of Benedictine. On the upper part, the BrideThe Bride appears as an allegory of the Motherland in the figure of La Marseillaise or Joan of Arc holding the flag as an icon, in a manner similar to French propaganda’s posters inciting financial support, or as Columbia in the USA inciting conscription. This hypothesis has been only briefly tested before in the literature on the Large Glass.

For decades the display of blue and white colours in Cyprus have been synonymous with Greek nationalism. During British colonial rule in Cyprus, there was a rise of nationalism. As a result, the Greek population of Cyprus demanded Enosis (union) with Greece. The rise of Greek nationalism during the National Liberation Struggle 1955–59 was, for the most part, denoted through a national ‘spectacle’ that included the national anthem and the flag. According to Rebecca Bryant (Imagining the modern: the cultures of nationalism in Cyprus, 2004, p. 164), ‘anything which bore the blue and white colors of Greece […] could be constructed as symbolic of Greek nationalism’. This chapter investigates the visual representation of Greek flags and the way images convey nationalism in Cyprus. It focuses on the work of Greek Cypriot artists Takis Frangoudes and George Georgiou, who both employed visual strategies to expose historical and socio-political events in Cyprus. It will explore how the usage of ‘national spectacles’ represented the political events during the anti-colonial struggle. It will also examine how the usage of the blue and white colours of the Greek flag constructs a sense of collective and political belonging during the long and violent history of Cyprus.