PLEDGES OF ALLEGIANCE: If You’d Like to See This Flag in Colors, Burn it (In Memory of Marinus Boezem)

SPACE is proud to raise artist Ahmet Ögüt’s flag, If  You’d Like to See This Flag in Colors, Burn it (In Memory of Marinus Boezem), (2018)as part of Creative Time’s Pledges of Allegiance project. 

The flag is inspired by Dutch visual artist Marinus Boezem’s postcard-size photograph titled If you’d like to see this photo in colors, burn it (1967-1969). It will be on view at 15 cultural institutions and universities across 13 states: Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Texas.

Ahmet Ögüt is an internationally renowned, sociocultural initiator and conceptual artist. He consistently seeks out collaborators from outside the art world, finding unique ways to grapple with complex social issues ranging from migration to civil unrest with a sense of humor.

“My flag is inspired by a small conceptual work by artist Marinus Boezem made in the late 60s, If you’d like to see this photo in colors, burn it,” says Ahmet Ögüt. “Boezem’s instructions in this artwork were never actualized, but the performative potential of the artwork brought it to life. Similar to his invitation to burn the photo, I wanted to create a flag that could inspire the imagination, instead of limiting viewers to predefined colors and symbols, and leave them feeling inert.”

Pledges of Allegiance is a nationwide public art project by Creative Time. The project is a serialized commission of sixteen flags, each created by acclaimed contemporary artists: Tania Bruguera, Alex Da Corte, Jeremy Deller, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Ann Hamilton, Robert Longo, Josephine Meckseper, Marilyn Minter, Vik Muniz, Jayson Musson, Ahmet Ögüt, Yoko Ono, Trevor Paglen, Pedro Reyes, Rirkrit Tiravanija, ​and Nari Ward.

Each flag embodies art’s ability to channel political passion, providing a unifying symbol around which to unite, as well as a call-to-action for institutions nationwide to raise upcoming Pledges of Allegiance flags in solidarity with Creative Time. Pledges of Allegiance aims to inspire a sense of community among cultural institutions, beginning with an urgent articulation of the political demands of the moment. Each flag points to an issue the artist is passionate about or a cause they believe is worth fighting for, and speaks to how we might move forward collectively as a country. To inaugurate the project, Creative Time raised Marilyn Minter’s RESIST FLAG on the roof of its headquarters on Flag Day, June 14.

Pledges of Allegiance was originally conceived by Alix Browne and developed in collaboration with Cian Browne, Fabienne Stephan, and Opening Ceremony.