Our Perfect Design

Ever notice that the American Flag works. I mean, it just looks exactly like it should. It is a perfect graphic. No matter how it is displayed, you know what it is: it is instantly recognizable. The colors are a perfect organic combination and I am not ever sure what that means. Even with out the colors, the pieces fit so well together that they work in black and white. Or more accurately, in greyscale (hey, I am a photographer, after all, so I get to use the word. And that word, I know). People fly the Flag for a variety of reasons, or for no reason at all.  Back in the dim ages of the Civil Rights Movement, flaying the American Flag in some places was the sign of a safe place in places where that quality was relative.  During the Viet Nam War -and the Anti-War Protests - the pro war factions claimed the American Flag as their own. Lately, I am beginning to think that we all finally have it back.  

This particular flag is flying from a building on 12^th Street, around the corner from my apartment. I noticed it a few weeks ago, photographed it several times. I like this shot best.