Oct 18, 2008

Day of the White Flag

Date: Oct 18, 2008, 00:00 Uhr

Duration: Oct 18, 2008

Location: Akademie Schloss Solitude

»DON’T FORGET OCTOBER 18TH, THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE WHITE FLAG!«

On the 18th of October 1988, the artist Johannes Cladders hoisted a white flag on the demarcation line between Eastern and Western Jerusalem. In respect of this unique action, which didn’t necessarily find the agreement of the local administration and population, Akademie Schloss Solitude supports the initiative of Johannes Cladders. 20 years later, on the 18th of October 2008, Akademie Schloss Solitude will launch the »International Day of the White Flag«: We are inviting people from all over the world to hang a white flag, a symbolic language which can be understood by everyone, from their house or window on this day.

The participants are asked to inform us about their action and send us a documentation of it to the following email address: whiteflag@akademie-solitude.de.

Finally, the Akademie will also hoist a white flag on 18th of October 2008 on the cupola of the baroque castle Solitude in Stuttgart.

Johannes Cladders describes the white flag as follows:
»It consists of a piece of fabric or of any other comparable material. Its dimension and shape can be objectively described. Beside the white color it doesn’t contain any further information. For this reason it is open to any art of individual and corporative interpretation: From the symbolic of the color to the endless meanings in the context of politics, war and peace, religion, philosophy, sciences, moral, history of culture and art. The white flag means freedom. Who is hoisting it on the 18th of October gives a sign for it.«

The artist Johannes Cladders, born 1924 in Krefeld, is the former director of the Museum Abteiberg in Moenchengladbach and was awarded the German Prize for Architecture (together with Hans Hollein) fort he new museum building in 1984. He is also well known under his artistic name »Caesar«.