Gilbert Baker
1951-2017
1978 Original Flag With Sewing Machine
The design has undergone several revisions to remove two colors for expediency and later re-add those colors when they became more widely available. As of 2021, the most common variant consists of six stripes, with the colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. Baker referred to this version of the flag as the "commercial version", because it came about due to practical considerations of mass production. Specifically, the rainbow flag lost its hot pink stripe when Baker approached the Paramount Flag Company to begin mass-producing them, and the hot pink fabric was too rare and expensive to include. The rainbow flag lost its turquoise stripe before the 1979 Gay Freedom Day Parade, as the committee organizing the parade wanted to fly the flag in two-halves, from the light poles along both sides of Market Street, so it became a six-striped flag with equal halves. - Wikipedia
He just didn't receive the attention he deserved. Never saw much about
ReplyDeletehim until he died. What a tremendous loss.
GF - I didn't know who he was until someone sent me that image of the flag.
ReplyDeleteI was lucky enough to buy one of his original-color flags, signed by Gilbert, at an auction here in DC. It's beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWill - Treasure it, as I'm sure you do.
ReplyDeletelove colours: the more the merrier!
ReplyDelete