Flags Fly High In Downtown Stamford As Australian Artist Unfurls His Work

STAMFORD, Conn. - The work of Australian artist Jon Campbell is now flying proudly across downtown Stamford.

Jon Campbell with some of his banners near Main Street in Stamford.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Jon Campbell debuts his work, and here stands in front of one of his banners.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Bonnie Wattles, Franklin Street Works Executive Director, with Jon Campbell and Stamford Mayor David R. Martin (R).
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Campbell's banners add color to Main Street.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Some of Campbell's banners.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Jon Campbell with a few of his banners in Stamford.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Skip Pearlman

03/23/2015 5:00 a.m.

The work of was unveiled last week by Franklin Street Works, a not-for?profit contemporary art space in downtown Stamford. It is Campbell's first public art project in the United States.

Campbell designed a series of art flags and banners for display in Stamford as part of Franklin Street Works’ spring exhibition “It’s gonna take a lotta love,” which is on view through May 24. The flags and banners will be on display until Flag Day, June 14.

More than 50 flags and banners are mounted at Stamford’s public parks, schools and in front of select office buildings, including the Government Center.

Campbell’s “four-letter word flags” brightly declare words such as Hold, Home, Look, Play, and Yeah, creating a visual dialogue with residents and visitors going about their daily routines.

His works transform everyday words into pictorial objects, prompting viewers to understand the expansive nature of language and how context, scale, and color can change a word’s resonance. By inserting his word flags between country, state, or corporate flags in a city, Campbell prompts passersby to ask which words are worthy of a public format usually saved for pageantry or branding.

Franklin Street Works is also partnering with local public and private Stamford schools to develop educational programs that engage students, including a flag design competition for students in grades 7 to 12. The competition will result in the printing and hanging of two winning flag designs in a public ceremony scheduled for late May.

Campbell's participation has been assisted by The University of Melbourne, Victorian College of the Arts, and the Australia Council for the Arts. He is a painter who lives and works in Melbourne.

Marrying the design principles of modernist abstraction with Pop vernacular, Campbell creates text-based paintings, banners, and flags that aestheticize common experiences. Campbell is an associate professor at the VCA at Melbourne University.

Franklin Street Works is located at 41 Franklin St. near the UConn campus. The art space and café are open to the public on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. with extended hours on Thursdays to 7 p.m. Admission is free. Visit the website for more information.

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