America's Peace Terms: Woodrow Wilson and the Fourteen Points [obverse] 1918

Karl Goetz made this medal, America's Peace Terms: Woodrow Wilson and the Fourteen Points, sometime around 1918. What's striking is how Goetz uses the medium itself to make a statement. It's not just about the image, but the physical object conveying a message. Look at the way Wilson is depicted as a monk, holding tablets. The texture is amazing, right? You can almost feel the weight and coolness of the metal, the sharp lines of the text, the subtle curves of Wilson's face. It's like Goetz is saying, "Here's something solid, something you can hold, but it's also a lie." The color, that deep bronze, adds to the feeling of seriousness, like an old monument. But then you realize it's a medal, something small and easily dismissed. That tension between the weighty subject matter and the humble form is what makes it so compelling. It’s like a conversation across time, isn’t it?