A Gold Medal Portfolio Award is the highest honor teens can receive in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Jurors choose portfolios by high school seniors whose works best represent the Scholastic Awards’ judging criteria: originality, skill, and the emergence of a personal vision or voice. These remarkable artists and writers will each receive a $12,500 scholarship
Graham Zeppernick
Mount Pleasant, SC
Dav Pilkey Portfolio Award
I am an observer. When I look at my environment, I see a world full of mental anguish and alienation, government overreach, drugs and alcoholism, dystopia, the occult, environmental destruction, and the turbulence pertaining to today’s masculinity. Themes of human suffering as well as ideas of hope in a conceptually discouragingly dark Techno-capitalist society is what is demonstrated in the six chosen images. These concepts have been a powerful force behind my creative vision, which I tend to express through the art of photography.
This portfolio, specifically, also pertains to my intrigue in miniature art. The images in this portfolio are created using 1/6th scale models. Working on a small scale allows me to create entire Hollywood-esque scenes in my backyard or garage.1/6th is my favorite size to work with because the scale is small enough to be relatively practical space-wise, while being big enough for me to sew miniature clothing, paint intricate details, and construct diorama sets large enough for me to climb inside and light up. A commentary made through a miniature scene is my way of striking fear, fascination, and thoughtful reflection into the minds of viewers.
My work demonstrates a complete dismissal of Artificial Intelligence (AI). I share among other artists the belief that the sacred historical practice of art making is threatened by AI, and I aim to combat this through my photos. I also feel that Computer Generated Images (CGI) practices in the film industry make films lack human spirit. My answer to this is the use of classic practical effects. None of my photographs are edited beyond simple color grading. Using physical special effects such as fire, mist, and explosives is what helps to ground and challenge my work. Lastly, I feel it is important to be resourceful and waste conscious. I build my sets using random pieces of wood, trash or discarded fabric scraps. Recently, the innards of a printer that I picked up from the side of the road helped me to design miniature technology for a set. I find that if the viewer is confused and trying to figure out if they are looking at a film still, paused video game trailer, or real photo, I have done my job well.
The inspiration for my pieces often comes from a vivid dream, news article or song. Surrounding myself with music is absolutely crucial to my motivation and the portrayal of a character’s emotions. After I brainstorm and build my set, I begin to create with the best figures, props, and costumes to tell the story. When capturing the final image, I work late into the night to experiment with angles and manually adjust for aperture and lighting.
Thank you for reviewing my work, and I hope that it has inspired you to become an observer.
View works from Choreographed Admonition, Graham’s award-winning portfolio, via our online gallery.
Annabelle Taghinia
Newtonville, MA
Dav Pilkey Portfolio Award
The world loves coming of age stories. From Moonrise Kingdom (2012) to Normal People (2020), people seem to be infatuated with those fragile years between childhood and adulthood, where recklessness is both punished and encouraged, when maturity is a goal always just out of reach. In my experience, these stories rarely concentrate on female friendships that are not heavily influenced by men or the male gaze. This means that most coming-of-age media overlook my own experiences: groups of teenage girls forming incredibly intimate, strong bonds.
There is something difficult to capture in the close friendships of young women. There are fits of vanity, treachery, hormonal rage. There are lip glosses borrowed and drinks shared and lipstick marks stamped into cheeks and shoulders. There are hugs and clutching onto one another and screaming. There are uncontrollable fits of laughter and times when you just have to sit up and go, “Yes, oh my god, yes! I was gonna say that!” True adolescent female friendships are unabashed and ridiculous and underrepresented.
Two of the pieces in this portfolio, “We Were Artistic Swimmers” and “Physically?” use my personal experiences as a member of a synchronized swimming team to develop that feeling of intimacy and closeness. When writing those pieces, I used a style where multiple details are listed and grouped together to develop that feeling of community. There is no single character in these pieces; the main character is the group. This develops the feeling of togetherness, and the idea that we grow up as a community rather than as individuals.
The portfolio also covers the idea of growing up without that community. Between disagreements with friends, arguments with parents, and personal struggles, adolescence can often feel like intense highs of friendship punctuated by deep isolation. Teenagers are given much of the responsibility with little of the independence of adulthood, a burden that is often carried alone. I find this especially prevalent in young girls, who are expected to be more rational and adult than their male peers, an injustice that places even more weight on their shoulders. To share this experience of isolation, I included the pieces “Hope”, “One Normal Week”, “Woman of the Moon”, and “Anbeh”, all of which develop the feelings of constriction, isolation, and helplessness that youth can bring to girls. I chose these works because they all bring the same reminder of the frustration of early maturity while simultaneously depicting people in very different circumstances and places in life.
Together, all of these pieces use different characters and experiences to create an overarching depiction of female adolescence: the intense friendships, the isolation, the adult expectations placed on the shoulders of children. This collection is a reminder that teenage girls, a group often disparaged or belittled, hold a strength that deserves acknowledgement.
View works from Adult Girls, Annabelle’s award-winning portfolio, via our online gallery.
To see more Gold Medal Portfolio recipients, past and present, visit our Eyes on the Prize series.
Featured image: Graham Zeppernick, The Liquidator, Photography. Grade 12, Lucy Garrett Beckham High School, Mount Pleasant, SC. Educator unavailable; Savannah College of Art and Design, Affiliate. Gold Medal Portfolio, Dav Pilkey Portfolio Award