Rejected – Designs for the European Flag

When, on December 8, 1955, the Council of Europe chose a design with twelve yellow five-pointed stars arranged in a circle on a blue background as the new flag of Europe, it rejected more than 200 proposals. Each of these proposals refers to a specific idea of Europe: while some give new meaning to existing symbols (the sun, the E, the star, the key, the tiger…), others use abstract forms to create new symbols. Together, they carry the spirit of the times and the perception of self in Europe at a time when fundamental steps towards European unification are about to be taken. Visually, they refer to a comprehensive view of the current state of Europe, its problems as well as its mission and potential.

The rejected proposals for the European flag – all of which are kept in the archives of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg – are published in this book for the first time. The book includes a text by the Franco-German artist and writer Marie Rotkopf, who critically examines current nationalisms in Europe. “This small trilingual book (French, English, German) exhumes from the archives the projects rejected [by the Council of Europe] [par le Conseil de l’Europe] and presents them by author or object (color, geometry, etc.). Marked by the “never again”, the graphic designers […] look for symbols of unity and progress, convinced that the European construction constitutes the ultimate of the future world. The sun appears in several projects, but also the triangle, the fleur de lys or… a tiger […]. This humorous book concludes with a cyanide-soaked article by the Franco-German writer Marie Rotkopf, which highlights the contrast between the values permeating the various versions of the flag and the reality.” Anne-Cécile Robert, Le Monde diplomatique