The E-Sylum:  Volume 10, Number 16, April 22, 2007, Article 19

JOHNSON: AMATEUR MEDAL DESIGNERS LACK MEDAL KNOWLEDGE

Dick Johnson writes: "San Antonio, Texas has a Fiesta every Spring.
This year it runs for ten days, April 20-29. Over 100 events are
scheduled in a city-wide party that is family friendly. Lots of Fiesta
merchandise is created, posters, T-shirts, hats, pins and medals that
are sold in a special street-front store. Great so far.

"Also every year the local newspaper, the San Antonio Express-News,
conducts a contest for citizens to design a Fiesta Medal. The 2007
winners were announced this week (April 19), illustrated in the paper
and all contest entries are shown on the Internet. It exemplifies the
complete lack of knowledge of what the public (at least in Southwest
Texas) thinks is a medal.

"This year's winner was a three-part fabrication that would be better
called a jewelry item than a medal. For the most part "medal" entries
are more like "decorations," to be worn. Most have a header, and a
cloth drape attached to a pendant (the actual "medal" part).

"The accompanying news story accurately described this year's medal
creations: 'Once again, readers rallied the glue guns, glitter and
so many more crafty ingredients to create an army of homemade medals
that overwhelmed the senses. From shoe fetishes to sticky tongues,
this year's pin-on platoon proved that, as always, imaginative
medal-makers seize the day.'

"'Glue guns?' 'Glitter?' 'Crafty ingredients?'  Saint-Gaudens is
rolling over in his grave! Traditional medal makers please stop
flinching. It's all just good clean fun. (And maybe someday a real
medal designer could emerge from this sand box kindergarten activity?)

"If you would like to see these imaginative "medal" creations go to
this URL and click on 'Slide Show:'"

Slide Show

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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