West Potomac Student Wake Coulter Wins Silver Award for Art

West Potomac High School senior Wake Coulter was raised in an artistic household and learned to draw before he learned to walk.

Coulter was recently awarded with the National Silver Award with Distinction for his Digital Art Portfolio for his Educational Propaganda Series.

Wake worked on his series of eight posters over the course of his junior year. The series was inspired by his thoughts on modern school policies.

"I wanted to try to show that modern school policies are usually good in theory, but they have a lot of negative impacts," Coulter said.

His artist statement reads: "I hope that these pieces will bring light to the many mindless policies that complicate the modern school system, and make people realize how archaic those policies are in contrast to our modern world. I used the old-fashioned propaganda theme to highlight the theme of the rules’ antiquity, and also to show that the rules are essentially forced on schools. Hopefully, this series will make teachers and administrators reflect on their policies and will change the way schools are run."

The series was the first one he created for the sake of art, as he has predominantly created posters for clients or businesses. He formed a graphic design business with a friend last year and has designed posters for West Potomac High School's drama program and the Empire nightclub in Springfield.

He wants to follow in his father's footsteps and become a freelance illustrator and graphic designer. After he graduates high school in June, he will either go to Ithaca College, Cornell, or Syracuse University.

Art teacher Amy Stoll told Patch she has been impressed by his work since he started Computer Graphics 1 his freshman year. The following year, he earned a spot in Computer Graphics 3 and was able to create a concentration of work.

"This level jump is rare and speaks to his drive and commitment to the arts," Stoll said.  "I knew Wake had an exceptional idea for his concentration when the first of eight propaganda posters piece emerged: Blend In which poked fun at the emphasis on conformity in schools. I was immediately hooked and excited to see what he would come up with next. Each piece was more ironic than the previous making the viewer stop in their tracks and do a double take with pieces like Abolish Art Class. When viewers take a closer look they realize that he is using the propaganda style to capture their attention and make them question the norm."

"I am so proud of Wake for winning the National Portfolio Award," Stoll continued. "I had a feeling his series would make waves and a deep hope that it would be recognized nationally.  Perhaps more proud that the national judges recognized the importance of the series of works.  In fact, I am tempted to send them to the Board of Education! Perhaps the posters will prompt some reform?  It’s amazing how art can be so powerful — take subject matter and display it visually and often it has a deeper impact."

National award winners and their teachers will be honored at an awards ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York City on May 31. For additional information, visit http://www.artandwriting.org/.