SCARLET AND BLACK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

well pleased with their speculations to launch the Betsy Ross
Flag and Banner Company to produce these unique creations

Mainly because the first banners were the products of
"pop” and “hard edge” artists associated With the Graham
galleries. the banner in this stage of American history is
largely thought of as a vehicle for express1on of the most
modernistic trends in American art.

The banners are being produced by a group of New
.York’s seventh avenue seamstresses, normally in the flag-
making business, under the close supervision of Mr. Graham’s
avantgarde artists, from whose “cart ons” or designs for the
basic pattern of the banner is sewn the final product in
groups of twenty with the artist’s name monogrammed on
the rear of each.

The banners have been made in various materials (nylon,
plastic, silk) and sizes, but are most commonly textured in a
felt wool combination and have dimensions of five feet by
seven t'eet. The banner is a revolutionary art concept in that
its polished aluminum rods allow it to be hung easily without
frame or glass casing and its durable texture allows it to be
rolled up compactly and even regularly dry»clcaned. Most
importantly, the large size and moderate cost of the banner
(produced so far for $300-$600) answer an immediate need of
the architect and designer for furnishing his structures with
attractive and practical art objects.

The banners hanging on a permanent basis in the
Forum are entitled, “The New Old Glory" and “Black and
Red,” and are the works of Robert Indiana, and Jack Younger
man respectively.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Touch of Camelot Invades Forum;
Wall Hangings Echo Old Tradition

By Wayne Stengel

With all the administration’s pride in both the attractive
utility and unique qualities of our new Forum, it should come
as a surprise to no Grinnellian to learn that the union grill
is furnished complete with a touch of Camelot. This
architectural. link with the Middle Ages is not fulfilled
with statues of chain mail or a large round table, but rather
what Canadian Art Magazine has called “the first vital de-
velopment s1nce lithography,” the banner.

Much like the heraldic banners vividly depicting families’
coats of arms dating from thirteenth century Europe in form,
this art form is the direct product of the long 1962»63 New
York newspaper strike, which crippled those entertainment
med1a depending largely on advertising for business Such
was the case with Manhattan 5 Graham Art Galle1y, owned by
Robert Giaham, which was exhibiting a collection of the um ks
of absti act1onist Alfied Jensen when the strike began.

In an effort to publicize Jensen 5 work as best he could
Graham suggested that the artist paint a huge flag to fly out-
side the galleiy. Graham 5 plan worked perfectly and Jensen's
abstract, brilliantly- colored flag attracted so much attention
in its own right from Manhattan's art students and some wellv
respected art critics, that it prompted Graham and his as-
sociates to first explore the possibilities of the transition from
mere flag todhe banner as an art form, and secondly, being