Novelty Product · 2021
Fucking Medals
An award for achievements that go unrecognized.
Goal & Strategy
A turn of phrase turned into something tangible.
Goal
Celebrate the achievements that go unacknowledged.
Strategy
Make a sarcastic phrase into a sincere token of appreciation.
The Project
Fucking Medals are real medals made using gold-plated brass, black enamel, a black grosgrain ribbon. The face says FUCKING MEDAL. It comes in two sizes, and it is built to be worn, hung, or handed over with a completely straight face.
It started as a joke at a childhood-themed New Year's party, where I was handing out participation awards and wanted to be snarky about it. I asked each guest to tell me something they were genuinely proud of. Then I asked, deadpan, “Would you like a fucking medal?” and gave them one. The snark evaporated on contact. People told me real things that mattered to them, and they kept the medals.
Since the party, I have upgraded the design, and people have bought them to thank art crews, to mark getting through something hard, to celebrate a goal, and, at least once, to honor being really good at getting laid.
Product
- 01 Robotopia
- 02 Magic Circle
- 03 The Racket
- 04 What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stranger
- 05 School Daze
- 06 See You in Heck
- 07 NDA
- 08 Elsewhere
- 09 Hoax
- 10 Fucking Medals
- 11 The Rambler Tourney
- 12 Art Hack Day: DETHRONE
- 13 The Speakeasy
- 14 The Exchange
- 15 The Department of Decontamination
- 16 Party Crashing
- 17 The Gelt Standard
- 18 Future Repasts
- 19 Alternative #Tigerstyle
- 20 The Museum of Cheeselantian Archaeology
- 21 Starship Titanica
- 22 The Order of Byzantium