Every medal won at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games will be a one-of-a-kind work of art. The medals, just recently unveiled, each feature a different crop of larger contemporary Aboriginal artworks and are undulating rather than flat - both firsts in Olympic Games history.
The undulating form of the Vancouver 2010 medals is inspired by the ocean waves, drifting snow and mountainous landscape found in the Games region and throughout Canada. The Olympic medals are circular in shape, while the Paralympic medals are a superellipse, or squared circle.
The medals are based on two large master artworks of an orca whale for the Olympic medals and a raven for the Paralympic medals. Both artworks are by Corrine Hunt, a Canadian designer/artist of Komoyue and Tlingit heritage based in Vancouver, BC. Each of the medals has a unique hand-cropped section of the abstract art, making every medal one-of-a-kind.
The full descriptions explaining the design and artwork, as found in the materials presented to the athletes with their medals and are available at www.vancouver2010.com.
More: Olympic News | Olympic Skiing - 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics
2010 Olympic Medals Courtesy VANOC
Comments
I do like these medals – a little risque with the uneven surface but I think the undulating form looks good.
I am hoping a few of them will be staying in Canada or course!