A CBC reporter乌鸦传媒檚 quest to rank B.C.乌鸦传媒檚 municipal flags sparked a West Coast controversy this week as the artist behind the image on Tofino乌鸦传媒檚 flag claimed he乌鸦传媒檇 never given Tofino permission to use it.
Alright, let's do this.
乌鸦传媒� Justin McElroy (@j_mcelroy)
In this thread, I'm going to rank every single municipal flag in British Columbia.
Justin McElroy ranked Tofino乌鸦传媒檚 flag at 38 out of the 130 flags on his list, explaining that the flag 乌鸦传媒渟creams Tofino,乌鸦传媒� and has a 乌鸦传媒渧ery nice postcard design,乌鸦传媒� but lost marks for having 乌鸦传媒楾ofino B.C.乌鸦传媒� printed on it as well as the artist乌鸦传媒檚 signature.
A potentially larger problem than that signature乌鸦传媒檚 impact on the flag乌鸦传媒檚 ranking arose when the artist it belongs to, Roy Henry Vickers, saw the flag and claimed he had never given Tofino permission to use his design.
BIG MUNICIPAL FLAG NEWS: it seems the artist whose signature is on the Tofino flag says he never designed the flag or gave them permission to use it.
乌鸦传媒� Justin McElroy (@j_mcelroy)
Tofino Mayor Josie Osborne was quick to respond, Tweeting that the district was looking into the allegation.
We乌鸦传媒檙e looking in to this right now... please stand by! The District of Tofino will absolutely want to take the right and respectful steps.
乌鸦传媒� Josie Osborne (@Josie_Osborne)
She later followed up, suggesting Tofino had discovered documentation that shows the district received permission to use the image and that 乌鸦传媒渙ur records indicate the artist was paid.乌鸦传媒�
We've unearthed 1992 & 2002 correspondence between the and the artist, Roy Henry Vickers, about use of the image. I'm following up directly with him to discuss, take any other necessary & respectful steps, & ensure all is in proper order. Good learning today!
乌鸦传媒� Josie Osborne (@Josie_Osborne)
The two sides had seemingly reached a resolution Thursday afternoon as Vickers, who owns a gallery in Tofino, Tweeted he was reviewing a contract with the district.
We are reviewing the contract. It乌鸦传媒檚 all good
乌鸦传媒� Roy Henry Vickers (@RHVickers)
The flag does not seem to appear anywhere on the District of Tofino乌鸦传媒檚 website and is not believed to be flying anywhere in town. McElroy found the design on the .
Osborne told the Westerly News late Thursday afternoon that she had not spoken directly with Vickers, but had reached out to him, and that she believes the issue has been resolved.
She said the district乌鸦传媒檚 documents show that Tofino reached an agreement with Vickers to design Tofino乌鸦传媒檚 municipal logo in 1992 and that the two parties reached another agreement to adapt the logo into a flag in 2002.
乌鸦传媒淚 was surprised to see Roy Henry Vickers Tweet, but I was quite confident that we would be able to find the backup documentation and just wanted to make sure we could take care of everything and clear up any misunderstandings,乌鸦传媒� she said.
She added she is a fan of McElroy乌鸦传媒檚 and had been following his flag rankings before the local controversy unfolded.
乌鸦传媒淗e乌鸦传媒檚 funny and irreverent and I enjoy following his writing, his Tweets and social media,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淪o, when he came out with the municipal flag series, I knew it was going to be a good one. I think it乌鸦传媒檚 all tongue in cheek and in good humour, poking a little bit at some of the funny and odd looking flags that towns have.乌鸦传媒�
Osborne, who first joined Tofino乌鸦传媒檚 council in 2013, said she was living in Tofino when the flag was unveiled in 2002, but could not recall ever seeing it in use.
乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檓 not sure what the use of the municipal flag really could be. It isn乌鸦传媒檛 something that乌鸦传媒檚 come up ever in any conversation I乌鸦传媒檝e had with anyone. In fact, the only time I乌鸦传媒檝e ever seen municipal flags really at play is at the annual UBCM Convention where there乌鸦传媒檚 a display of every single flag. But, I don乌鸦传媒檛 think they have Tofino乌鸦传媒檚 because we乌鸦传媒檝e never given them one,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檓 not sure that it really qualifies as a flag. There乌鸦传媒檚 probably rules that it breaks, but it is beautiful.乌鸦传媒�
She added she often hears positive feedback about the logo Vickers designed for Tofino in 1992.
乌鸦传媒淲hen I pass out my business card, I invariably get the comment, 乌鸦传媒榃hat a beautiful logo.乌鸦传媒� That is my segue to tell people about Roy Henry Vickers and the Eagle Aerie Gallery乌鸦传媒攚hich most people have heard of or even visited,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淚 think we乌鸦传媒檙e fortunate to have Roy乌鸦传媒檚 iconic art as part of our municipal image.乌鸦传媒�
The Westerly News has reached out to Vickers for comment and will update this story when new information comes in.
andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
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