![]() His assertion was that it should have been used as the symbol of the anti-war movement of the 60’s and 70’s rather than the peace symbol most of us know (aka CND Peace Symbol) – it really bugged him that it wasn’t for some reason. A mentor of mine, Richard is the one that first made me aware if it back in the mid-nineties. The Peace Banner is a simple and beautiful symbol, one that Roerich borrowed from ancient sources, that consists of three circles locked up by a larger circle. No, the reality is that we have lost important pieces of our shared history and, one could argue, of our collective humanity forever. led bombing raids in Baghdad or by the sledgehammers of the Da’ish (ISIS) zealots in Syria, hardly seems to matter in the end. They are irreplaceable and lost forever to us and whether it happened, during U.S. Since 2003, I have watched as ancient cultural sites in the world have been destroyed, many that predate history, all that told the story of humanity and some, of the very dawn of civilization itself. Still, as I watch the world and the posture of those in power today, I see many similarities to the time period in which the Roerich Pact came to be and feel like the world may need a symbol like this more than it ever has before. Of course, in an ideal world, we wouldn’t need any symbols to tell us where not to drop bombs – no, in that world we wouldn’t be dropping bombs on each other at all. At its height (around 1935) at least 37 countries, including the United States signed onto it. It would protect museums (the buildings and art)-but also other spaces of cultural activities: universities, libraries, concert halls, theaters, etc. The flag/marker was meant to indicate and protect the site’s neutrality, much like the Red Cross does so for hospitals and other medical sites. After seeing all that was lost in the First World War, not just in terms of lives (20 Million dead and 21 Million wounded – which seems almost unfathomable itself) but also in art, architecture, literature and shared history, he worked with international law experts to draft the pact bearing his name.Īccording to Wikipedia, The Roerich Pact, “…is the first international treaty dedicated to the protection of artistic and scientific institutions and historical monuments.” You can read it in detail here, but essentially it provided protection to culturally important sites during times of conflict. Nicholas Roerich, was a Russian painter, writer, archaeologist, theosophist and purposeful conservator of art and culture. It is called the Peace Banner, which was the symbol of the Roerich Pact. Then I remembered an old symbol that really spoke to me when I first heard about it many years ago that you rarely see around. ![]() You all know the buzzwords flying around, “create”, “iterate” or take something and “hack” it to do something else or my absolute least favorite “disrupt”. So often these days, we try to create “new things” – it seems like a constant pressure. As I was contemplating designing some new logos and icons to represent different concepts of change that are important to me, I felt a little stuck. ![]() After all, a good button is simple, visually appealing and quick to understand/absorb. Then, I did a couple with the Element Five logo on it. While contemplating, I made some for my friend’s coffee shop, which he was super happy about. As I was contemplating (and likely overestimating) this new found power, I got lost in the possibilities. They might, in their very highest form, even change the world, if only a little and now I had the potential power to do that. ![]() One of the things I love about buttons and bumper stickers and all the other forms of canned self expression, is that they can be useful. I don’t know, but long story, short…my little obsession turned into a curiosity and, as often happens to me in these cases, resulted in me owning the means to make them. Or maybe it’s the fact that they are tiny analog beacons in an over-digitalized world – kitschy or not, at least they are real. Maybe it’s the nostalgia of my punk days and finding that perfectly obscure button for my jacket, the one that wasn’t available at the local mall, but required actually seeing (and possibly meeting) the band featured on it. I am not sure why, but I have been a little obsessed with them of late. You know, to make those pin buttons you put on your backpack or jacket to rep your favorite band, the cool startup you work for or to give the world that personal snapshot, large or small, about what’s going on in your mind. ![]()
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