2nd Place - Open Division
Jesse and Laetitia Summers
Edmond, OK
Oklahoma Politics: Donkeys, Elephants, and Everything in Between!
The theme of this year's collage project, Donkeys, Elephants, and Everything in Between, symbolizes an all-inclusive theme for Oklahoma politics. With this in mind, we chose to use the State flag as our template, over which we would design a collage that included not just Republicans and Democrats, but other parties and other political figures in the spectrum of Oklahoma politics. The notion of the flag gave us a symbolic backdrop which unites our state, on which we could expand to include a fusion of the state seal, state capitol, capitol city skyline, a plethora of faces from Oklahoma's political history (some well known, some not), and familiar images from this great state.
We started with the backdrop, the State flag, over which we designed a multi-layered theme which depicts the various political parties and figures of Oklahoma, inter-mingled with images of donkeys and elephants, as well as party logos. While the layout is very busy, there is symbolism in our placement of the characters; some being comedic, as the animals play with various politicians, and some being political, the alignment based on party preference (left to right, democrats to republicans.) We chose to represent the current congress, state and national, as well as the former members who have influenced the story of our state so well. In addition to the congressional representatives, we also included mayors, governors, cabinet members, lobbyists, and pundits. At the bottom of our backdrop we gave an image of the capitol city skyline, mixed with images of our state: the Red Bud tree, state highways, buffalo, and cowboys.
The emblem stands as our centerpiece. The symbol of a united and beautiful state. It is a combination of the center shield on the State flag, and the state seal of Oklahoma. In the center of the emblem is an image of the Capitol dome, a symbol for State politics. The emblem was made using tiny squares of paper in mosaic style, and took over three days to finish. Symbolic in the center of the emblem, is the image of two men, draped in the American flag, shaking hands. They show the unity of our politicians, for state and for country, a unity that has kept our state on the right track for a century. While our politicians often disagree, the State and its citizens comes first, and this is the imagery of the emblem. With an Oklahoma sunset highlighting the Capitol Dome, the emblem is an image to remember.
The project was one which took a great deal of time and effort. While at times it seemed to be going slow, the finish was very fun and exciting. It also allowed us to learn much about the political history of our great state, and it gave us an opportunity to explore areas of Oklahoma politics which we did not know existed. We enjoyed making our collage and we would definitely do it again, given the opportunity. We wish to thank the Oklahoma Centennial Commission as well as the Hideaway Pizza Company for giving us the opportunity to participate in such a fun and unique contest. |
