“I am an American,” Marc Tasman proudly tells me. “It’s not that I hate America. The problem is I love America.”

It is Friday morning and we are sitting in this University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee journalism lecturer’s cramped office surrounded by various pieces of his upcoming art exhibit, “Proposal for The New American Flag: Representing a New Constellation.”

The exhibit chronicles the history of the American flag and set to open at the UWM Institute of Visual Art (Inova) on Friday, Oct. 12, as part of the Nohl Fellowship show.

But the highlight of the show is a giant version of Tasman’s American flag. The flag has 99 stars, and 19 stripes. The 99 stars stand for Sept. 11, and the current state of our nation. The 19 stripes represent Sept. 10, and the world before the Twin Towers were attacked.

“We have a new national narrative,” he says. “This is why we do what we do, because of this thing that happened on September the eleventh.”

Tasman didn’t design the flag on a whim. It is something that has been on his brain since the end of 2001. He doesn’t want to deface the flag’s symbolism and national sentiment.

He explains that his flag still represents the core values of America and of the “old 50 star flag,” as he refers to it during our conversation. He believes just as our country has changed so too, must our flag.

“My hope for the flag is that it does signal to Americans and to other nations and citizens of other nations that we recognize that this America, that the role in America, the role of America shifted,” says Tasman.

In fact, Tasman tells me, our flag hasn’t always had 50 stars. The flag has gone through many, many changes. As the United States was expanding westward, the flag changed every few years, adding a new star each time as state was added to the Union. At one point in history our flag had 15 stripes.

Tasman’s “99 Star Flag,” is an art piece, but he is hesitant to label it as such.

“I think real art transcends the gallery space,” he explains. “I want to let art out. Art in a gallery is like a zoo.”

Tasman believes that when art is out in the public sphere it is the most effective and powerful. Even our leaders, he says, understand the “esthetic of ideas.” He uses an example of President Bush’s post-Sept. 11 speeches.

“Someone was writing their ass off,” says Tasman. “This was good material, and Bush was a good performer.”

Tasman doesn’t want to be bitter. His aim is to be positive and to create something beautiful, and to provide an opportunity for change.

“We need to examine who we are as a country and how we are going to live on this planet,” says Tasman.

He hopes that we can find the values that we treasure because “America is beautiful and the American flag is beautiful.

“I think the ideas of America are beautiful. I think Americans are beautiful,” he says, his voice full of passion.

As of yet, Tasman hasn’t seen any extreme or passionate responses to his proposal, negative or positive.

“Many people sort of chuckle and say ‘Oh, you’re going to get some resistance from this’,” he says. “But I don’t know if I believe them.”

But Tasman is determined. He has even written letters to President Bush and Sen. Russ Feingold, explaining the concept behind the redesign, and offering to each different reasons why it would be in their best interests to support this national change. To Tasman’s dismay, neither Bush nor Feingold has responded.

His ultimate goal is to have the flag make it to the desk of a lawmaker. Tasman also hopes that the show will spawn more media interest in his effort. Right now, he is focused on finishing the exhibit. But once it is up, Tasman will try to drum up media support and coverage; he is hoping Stephen Colbert, of “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central, will be interested.

If Tasman’s flag is adopted as the new American flag, there will be a national dilemma: what do you do with all the old 50 star flags?

“If there was some way for everyone to donate their old 50 star flag and they would be entombed at ground zero (the site of the Sept. 11 attacks), that would be a nice tribute,” Tasman suggests.

Tasman is truly passionate about his flag and what it stands for. It isn’t a campaign he is going to give up any time soon.

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