Join artists @MatthiasWermke& Mischa Leinkauf for a selection of their films w/ Q&A #Megawords http://t.co/ZLAikeo95J pic.twitter.com/SUtFf4HIUJ
— Mural Arts (@muralarts) February 26, 2014
Two foreign artists called the New York Times to confess that they are the culprits of the flag-swapping incident.
On July 22, two white flags flew over the Brooklyn Bridge, replacing the American flags that are normally there.
The NYPD looked at it as a security threat.
Some came forward, saying they were behind the incident.
The parody Twitter handle @BicycleLobby said it was responsible.
A week later, a self-proclaimed founder of the POT Party (People Opposing Tyranny) confessed all the way from California.
Here is what you need to know about the latest to come forward, saying that the flags were their brainchild.
1. They’re Daredevil Performance Artists
They claim they did it in reverence to German-born engineer, John Roebling, whose birthday it was.
On the artists’ website, they say, “In the night from July 21st to July 22nd Wermke/Leinkauf hoisted two hand-sewn white American flags on the towers of Brooklyn Bridge.”
We saw the bridge, which was designed by a German, trained in Berlin, who came to America because it was the place to fulfill his dreams, as the most beautiful expression of a great public space. That beauty was what we were trying to capture.
2. They Posted a Video as Evidence
The men sent this video to the Times.
3. They’re From Germany
They were both born in East Berlin.
Their work is described on muralarts.com:
The duo’s work investigates the boundaries of public space in urban environment through different kinds of interventions and performances. They temporarily override limitations and constraints without permission or invitation. They aim to question common standards and to show the beauty beyond these standards. This investigation results in video installations from single-screen to multi-screen with mixed media including photos or slides.
4. One Is the Subject, the Other the Cameraman
“The daredevil artists like to surf trains and scale skyscrapers to make their heart stopping videos,” said the description for the video above.
5. They’re Internationally Known
Their art has been exhibited at MOT Tokyo, the Kulturhuset Stockholm, Museum of Contemporary Art Roskilde, Denmark, and at Eye Beam, New York.
