The Minnesota State Fair, Part 2

Two important parts of any trip to the Minnesota State Fair are viewing the crop art and the fine art show. Both are a respite from the sun and the crowds (although there are plenty of people viewing them). But they feel quite different from most other parts of the Fair.

Crop Art

Crop art is exactly what it sounds like -- images created by gluing seeds or other plant matter to a rigid board. It's really taken off in Minnesota in the last 20 years. elenabella has already covered some of this year's works, but I wanted to show a few more of the ones I enjoyed.

Minnesota's State Fair crop art is known for several things: the work of the late Lillian Colton, reproductions of classic product labels, and politics.


I liked the energy of this entry (although I forgot to note the name of the artist... sorry!). (Update: David Steinlicht helped me out by identifying the artist as Sandra Fjerkenstad-Budel.)


Here's one from the political genre, by Laura Melnick. It was one of three that featured Minnesota' own Michelle Bachmann. Titled "Michele's Precious Moments," it juxtaposes quotes from Bachmann with appropriate pictures in the style of the Precious Moments figurines, such as this one:



Another influential crop artist, David Steinlicht, gave us a waitress named Flo:


I love the gridded background, contrasting with the organic shapes of her hair and face.


If you're not from Minnesota, you may not know about Nut Goodie candy, but it still has a classic package, enthusiastically reproduced here by Faith Farrell.


Alan Carpenter put himself into a meticulous portrait with Nancy, Laura, a parrot and a monkey.


Elizabeth Schreiber did a great job evoking the texture of the Creature from the Black Lagoon.


Funny and well executed, by Linda Wing.


Theresa Anderson created a triptych of Michelle Bachmann, Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter. It's hard to read in my photo, but it says:

• Madame Michele's Zany Predictions
• World's Biggest Ego, World's Thinnest Skin
• AnnaConda, Snake Woman

Anderson's seed submission was nicely tied in to her triptych, using a series of tickets as a frame. The tickets contain names such as Mark Sanford and Michelle Malkin.

Fine Art Show

The Star Tribune's art critic, Mary Abbe, found fault with the overall tenor of this year's show. " ...it comes across as a paean to Midwestern sincerity," she wrote. "Which serves to remind the cynic that sincerity is overrated."

I'd say all the Fine Art Shows I can remember were generally in that vein, replete with flowers, kids and wild life. But there are always spikes of interesting work in there. Here are a few I liked.


A collage of the Minneapolis skyline by Raju P. Lamichhane...


...best appreciated in close up.


Beautiful texture and color in this fabric work, titled "Nature Takes a Turn II," by Debra Maertens: Google Earth meets crazy quilt.


"Bitter Pills" by John Ilg. I spent some time studying this one to see how it was done.


David Prochniak's water color "Jake's Dream House" wasn't remarkable so much for his technique as for the concept and details of the house. Although I hope, for the sake of the trees, it's just a fantasy!


"Harriet" by Barbara Benson Keith.


"Bone Doggy" by Mark Davison.


"Fault" by Jason Jasperson.


"Guardedly Optimistic" by Kate Christopher.


One thing that drives me crazy about the fine art show is how the art is arranged.

It's grouped by the judges' idea of what each picture's subject matter is. So, for instance, the wall above combines images that include a nude figure (all the nudes that fit, I guess).

But it's undermining to the art to see it this way -- one wall had four images in which crows were important. But by grouping them together, it distracts from any one image, making the viewer think about the artificial construct of what the images have in common, rather than the images themselves.

I realize there's a big challenge to organizing and presenting a large number of works in a small space. There is no common theme to work with, as there usually is in museum shows. But it feels naive, even childish, to group the pieces as the organizers do. Though I'm not sure if it's the organizers who are naive, or if it's an assumption they're making about the nature of the show's audience.


At the end of the show, and separate from it, were a number of fabric and garment pieces by students from the University of Minnesota's School of Design. I particularly liked this Dagger Dress by Ashley Wokash.


Wokash designed the fabric, based on a single drawing of a dagger, silk-screened it, and also designed the dress. It's an interesting use of an angular weapon, transformed into a decorative pattern, then used on a dress with curving lines.