SOS Color Code 2020

Luftwerk & Normal 
3 Art flags

SOS Color Code 2020 uses the universal languages of morse code and color theory as a call for humanity and a willingness to help one another. Visualizing morse code into dots and dashes a pattern forms with each flag representing the letters S (three dots) O (three dashes) S (three dots) and color combinations informed by color theory this installation remains an effective visual distress signal, an ambigram that can be read upside down or right side up. As the world adjusts to new norms in challenging times, SOS Color Code 2020 offers a reconsideration of how language, objects and symbols, and even color can help us find stable ground and safety no matter where we are. Situated in specific public and domestic settings, during the crucial time leading up to the US Election, SOS Color Code 2020 reminds us, as US Representative John Lewis said, “Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself.” 

SOS Color Code 2020 launches on Sept. 15, 2020, the International Day of Democracy, and will be on display through US Election Day, Nov. 3, 2020.

Partner Sites: Cleve Carney Museum of Art, CNL Projects & Art-In-Place, Comfort Station, Elmhurst Art Museum, H&R Block Art Space at the Kansas City Art Institute, Mattress Factory, Minnesota Museum of American Art, The National Public Housing Museum, Normal Studio, Sarah Skaggs Independent Curatorial Projects, USF Institute for Research in Art Contemporary Art Museum, The Witte Residence, & Compound Yellow

Virtual Panel Discussion
Thursday, Oct 1, 2020, 7pm EDT / 6CDT
Zoom Link
Join us for an online panel panel discussion exploring SOS Color Code 2020 moderated by Sarah Howard, USF Curator of Public Art and Social Practice. A virtual conversation with Luftwerk and Renata Graw, Principal at Normal, along with project participants Cortney Lederer, Director of CNL Projects and Art In Place and Dr. Lisa Yun Lee, Executive Director of the National Public Housing Museum.

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