Sommer des Zögerns: Andreas Dobler & Mitchell Anderson
Andreas Dobler
Mitchell Anderson (*1985)
www.mitchellwanderson.com / www.plymouthrockzurich.com / www.mariabernheim.com
Notes on Invert
invert (v.)
to turn (something) in an opposite direction; reverse the position, order, or sequence of, 1530s, from Middle French invertiror directly from Latin invertere “turn upside down, turn about; upset, reverse, transpose, figuratively pervert, corrupt, misrepresent; from in (in, on) + vertere (to turn).
invert (n.)
1550s, act of inverting, 1590s, state of being inverted. In old psychology, homosexuality (1895), but in later psychology identification with the opposite sex (1958).(1)
1863-64
The First Geneva Convention recognized the red cross on a white background as the single distinctive emblem. Since the emblem was to reflect the neutrality of the armed forces, medical services and the protection conferred on them, the emblem adopted was formed by reversing the colours of the Swiss flag.(2)
The official flag of the Swiss Confederation, as we know it today, dates back to 1840. There is much debate among historians about the choice of red. Certain believe that it symbolized the blood of Christ, while others suggest that the choice was inspired by the colour of the old Bernese flag. In 1848, it was officially adopted as the national flag and enshrined in the Swiss Constitution.(3)
After eliminating legal ramifications as a potential deterrent from appropriate use of the Red Cross symbol, the remaining explanation is simple unawareness about the formal distinction from the Swiss national flag. Until formal clarification, we will continue to encounter emergency departments masked as Swiss embassy satellite offices, and ski patrollers disguised as Swiss citizens in the Rocky Mountains.(4)
The impact of a dollar upon the heart
Smiles warm red light
Sweeping from the hearth rosily upon the white table
With the hanging cool velvet shadows
Moving softly upon the door (5)
1 “Invert.” Index, 2020, www.etymonline.com/word/invert#etymonline_v_12188
2 “The History of the Emblems.” International Committee of the Red Cross, 14 Jan. 2007, www.icrc.org/en/doc/resources/documents/misc/emblem-history.htm
3 “Swiss Flag.” Eidgenössisches Departement Für Auswärtige Angelegenheiten EDA, 28 Jan. 2020, www.eda.admin.ch/aboutswitzerland/en/home/gesellschaft/traditionen/fahne.html
4 Stahel, Philip F. “Swiss Flag or Red Cross Emblem: Why the Confusion?” Patient Safety in Surgery, BioMed Central, 7 May 2013, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3663670/
5 from Stephen Crane’s The impact of a dollar upon the heart (1899)