Sunday, April 5, 2015

THE OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL FOR ARCHITECTURE?

Between 1912 and 1948, Olympic medals were awarded for architecture, music, painting, sculpture, and literature (further divided into the subcategories of dramatic works, lyrical works, and epic poetry). All entries had to be related to the "Olympic ideal" (perhaps something like "The Ballad of Tonya Harding"). 

The Nazi regime exploited these events during the 1936 Olympics by submitting numerous propaganda items and, because of the large number of German judges, scored a significant hoard of medals. 

Due to the fact that participation was strictly limited to amateurs, most of the entries were of mediocre quality at best. In many cases, the winning items have been lost in the Stygian bowels of history, and no one even remembers what they were.

For additional information on the fine arts competitions in the Olympics, please read this article in The Atlantic.

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