State Fair 2012

This year's trip to the Minnesota State Fair was only about four hours, but you wouldn't know it from the way my feet and legs felt. I limited my food intake to one frozen apple cider pop, half a cream puff, and one of the new walleye rolls from Giggles Campfire Grill (home of the best food at the Fair).

Speaking of food, it appears the boringly named Food Building has gotten a new logo:


It replaces this one, which they put up just two years ago:


Maybe they read what I had to say about it back in 2010 and redid it because they were embarrassed. The new one is a big improvement.

This year's Fair Midway includes what I guess you'd call an old-fashioned freak show. I don't know, because I didn't pay to go inside, but the painted canvases outside are spectacular.


This is the type of work that Ross Ward, creator of New Mexico's Tinkertown roadside attraction, used to do for his day job.


Silly, silly, silly. Especially the little "ALIVE" emblems that repeat throughout.


This may become my new profile photo. I especially love the look on the dark-haired woman's face. (And note the spelling of weird.)


The Fair is known for its pig and cow artwork and general over-representation of our four-footed friends. This booth in the Midway took it to extremes.

Crop Art

As always, the crop art display in the horticulture building was a standout. I'll start with the general pieces and end with the political ones.


David Steinlicht's entry advertised the cropart.com website, and was displayed above all the other entries, like the marquees it references.


I really liked this piece by novice Christina McHenry. The off-white millet has a sparkling, jewel-like quality.


It's always fun to see Linda Wing's latest Bad Seed art. (Here some past Bad Seed entries by Wing.)


This dyed or painted amateur entry by Suzanne Mears had beautiful texture and wonderful framing.


I tend to look past most of the three-dimensional entries, but that was hard to do with this bra. It's covered in coneflower cones, although they look almost like burdock. Even Madonna says ouch!


Love this funny crop pot by Jill Schaefer.


I guess this is the transition to the political art. While it's not as overt as the others, I'm pretty sure this is a reference to genetically modified crops.


A political cartoon in dyed seeds reminded us about Paul Ryan's days driving the Oscar Mayer WeinerMobile.


Theresa Anderson's "Defending Marriage Sanctity" takes the cake among the entries challenging the marriage restriction amendment that will be on our ballots this fall. Its concept and execution were both excellent. Since King Henry VIII... and including Newt, Herman Cain, Mark Foley, Larry Craig, Ted Haggard, and other conservative notables who have been such great role models.

Her seed ID card mimicked a wedding invitation, reading, "You are cordially invited to vote NO on the proposed anti-marriage constitutional amendment."


Mark Dahlager took a completely different tack, appealing to a different audience.

Several other pieces took on the marriage amendment, including Laura Melnick's meticulous but busy November broadside and Jill Schaefer's Vote No gnome, which are very visual and have gotten a lot of press


I was glad to see one piece on the voter suppression amendment, by Elana Dahlager (daughter of Mark Dahlager, I believe).

More on the Fair

If you can't get enough State Fair photos, check out this series of nice shots that's mostly pictures of signs and lettering.

My past Fair posts:

• 2011
• 2010 part 1 
• 2010 part 2 with art show and crop art 
• 2009 part 1 
• 2009 part 2 with art show and crop art