Mystery Solved: White Flags on the Brooklyn Bridge a Celebration of Public Space

Back in July, white flags appeared atop the Brooklyn Bridge, sparking speculation about the meaning of the gesture. Was it about gentrification? Was it a warning of a forthcoming act of terrorism?

1 minute read

August 15, 2014, 5:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell

"A pair of artists in Berlin said they were the ones who pulled off the stunt of the summer, hoisting two big all-white flags atop the Brooklyn Bridge last month, swapping them for the usual red, white and blue," reports New York Times Architecture Critic Michael Kimmelman.

According to Kimmelman's article, "the artists, Mischa Leinkauf and Matthias Wermke, say the flags — with hand-stitched stars and stripes, all white — had nothing to do with terrorism. In a series of phone interviews, they explained that they only wanted to celebrate 'the beauty of public space' and the great American bridge whose German-born engineer, John Roebling, died in 1869 on July 22, the day the white flags appeared."

FULL STORY: German Artists Say They Put White Flags on Brooklyn Bridge

Tuesday, August 12, 2014 in New York Times

Infrastructure New York New York City Brooklyn Bridge Mysteries Public Space View More

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