TACTIC:

Human banner
Theres no law saying that the
COMMON USES
revolution cant be fun and A human banner
To make a single, unified
statement with thousands
human banners are excruci- can be spur of
atingly fun. No chanting, no
of people.
harangues; just hundreds of the moment
PRACTITIONERS people using their bodies to
form enormous words or an im-
a milling crowd
Greenpeace
John Quigley age in order to send a message. can be quickly
Brad Newsham Ive helped create ten hu-
man banners, with crowds arranged and
FURTHER INSIGHT ranging from 300 to 1,500. photographed from
Human Banners SF, Over 1000 Each event was powerful,
Spell Out Tax the 1%
http://www.humanbannersf.com/
cathartic, and the feedback a nearby building
Melncoyote, Foreign Mining
was always something along
the lines of: The most enjoy-
or lamppost
Operations Soundly Rejected
http://trb.la/yZBneq able, most fun, best demon- but conscientious
stration Ive ever been to!
CBS News, AntiWall Street Protests
Coast-to-Coast: Washington, D.C. The human banner is a
planning can
http://trb.la/xkWLTq powerful, expressive tactic. It produce staggering
Greenpeace, Giant Melting da Vinci has some of the political virtues
Artwork Recreated on Arctic Sea Ice of a rally: it turns out numbers works of aerial art.
http://trb.la/wKZ7o4
Iowa National Guard,
The Camp Dodge Story
http://trb.la/x2qt51
Spectral Q: Collaborative Art
for the Common Good
http://spectralq.com/Home.html

CONTRIBUTED BY
Brad Newsham

CODEPINK 2006.

56 TACTIC: Human banner

 Related:

TACTICS
Flash mob p. 46
Artistic vigil p. 10
Banner hang p. 12
Art intervention web

THEORIES
Action logic p. 208
Ethical spectacle p. 230
Expressive and instrumental
actions p. 232

Tax the 1% human banner organized by The Other 98%, 2011. (The other 1% remains unaccounted for.)

that physically demonstrate public support and the movements

ability to mobilize, but it does so with elegance, like a work of
art.
It works well for media coverage, too. Journalists need fresh
story angles and compelling visuals, and the human banner
delivers: its unusual, remarkable, notable, people-powered,
and made up of a thousand individual human interest stories.
And when composed correctly, it delivers the money shot the
media is always looking for: a single iconic photo that speaks
for itself, that tells the whole story on its own see THEORY: Ac-
tion Logic.
A human banner can be spur of the moment a mill-
ing crowd can be quickly arranged and photographed from
a nearby building or lamppost but conscientious planning
can produce staggering works of aerial art.
Here are some things to keep in mind when planning your
human banner:

The slogan/image: Your image needs to communicate your

message concisely and powerfully. Words and symbols are
easiest to lay out, pictures trickier. You want viewers to get
your message on first blink, and gasp at its beauty, audac-
ity, and clarity.

The site: An iconic background anchors your photo to a

place. Murals can be created on sand (etch the outlines

TACTIC: Human banner 57

 before the crowd arrives), on grass (mark it with ropes or
string), on pavement (chalk). A football field-sized area
works well. My preferred font size for lettering is 100 feet
tall, ten feet wide.

Photography: Video is nice, but getting at least one great

photo is your goal. A helicopter gives optimal photograph-
ic maneuverability, but other possibilities include small
planes, tall buildings, cranes and camera-balloons.

Crowd: Youll definitely want enough folks to fill in your

lettering, plus a cadre of event volunteers. Pre-registration
prevents last-minute scrambling or, worse, a thin,
scraggly image. Focus on designing an event youd be ex-
cited to attend. Nail the details.

POTENTIAL PITFALLS: Its easy to get grandiose in your plans,

but complexity doesnt scale well. Keep it simple. Or if you do
want to get complicated, test drive a smaller version first, then
plan meticulously.

KEY PRINCIPLE DO THE MEDIAS WORK FOR THEM: A human banner allows you
at work to tell an entire story in one stunning image, but youll likely
have to deliver that image yourself. Invite the media along,
but dont expect them to bring a helicopter. After the event,
OTHER PRINCIPLES AT WORK:
with aerial photo and press release in hand, youll have a
Play to the audience that isnt there p. 160
ready-for-prime-time package.
This aint the Sistine Chapel p. 188
Show, dont tell p. 174
Make new folks welcome p. 150
Balance art and message p. 100

58 TACTIC: Human banner

Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man on Arctic Sea Ice. Artist John Quigley in coordination with Greenpeace. Photo by Nick
Cobbing. (Copper and Arctic Sea ice)

TACTIC: Human banner 59