Crop Art at the 2025 Minnesota State Fair

My son and I were in the horticulture building before it was open on the opening day of the Minnesota State Fair last Thursday. I was entering cherry tomatoes (I ended up earning a 3rd place ribbon!), and the drop off was 6:30 a.m. through 9 a.m. when the building itself didn’t open to the public until after that.

So we had the opportunity to do something amazing: look at the “crop art” with NO ONE else around! Usually that room has a huge line, and it’s packed with viewers during normal fair hours! Here are a few pics:

[click each image to enlarge]

My son and about 1/3 of the crop art, before all the building lights were even turned on.

I had a good time explaining some of the “art puns” that were being made with some of the crop art. For example: here we see “Girl with a Pearl Earring” portrayed as a squirrel, as well as “The Son of Man” shown with a corn dog instead of an apple:

"American Gothic" with the 2 MN State Fair mascots, Fairchild and Fairborne.


"Saturn Devouring His Son" but with a corn cob.


Another version of "The Son of Man"


"The Birth of Venus."


"Migrant Mother" - one of the most famous photographs of all time!


"This is not a corn dog" which is a take on "The Treachery of Images,"
and you can see it won an award from the Minneapolis Institue of Arts!

"Wet Paint" Signs at Wet Paint

I love the colletion of "Wet Paint" signs at my favorite art store (Wet Paint) in St. Paul:

Click image to enlarge.

Tomorrow Night!

Here's the poster for the Faculty Exhibition that opens tomorrow night:

You can find a little more info in this post, but stop on by to the reception: Thursday, November 16, 5 – 7 p.m., at the Concordia Gallery (301 Marshall Ave, St. Paul, MN 55104).

Upcoming Faculty Exhibition

The Concordia Gallery website currently looks like this:

That's one of my 4 a.m. photos from the MN State Fair last year. I hope to be showing a few of those in this exhibition. Here's the exhibition page with my image larger:

Click here for a larger version.

On View / Exhibition Run Dates: Thursday, November 9 – Monday, December 18

Public Reception: Thursday, November 16, 5 – 7 p.m.

Concordia Gallery: 301 Marshall Ave, St. Paul, MN 55104

A Memorial for a Photography Mentor

I posted last summer about the sudden loss of John Marshall, the head of the Photography Department at CVA when I was a student there. This past weekend, his wife hosted a memorial event for him at their home in Red Wing:

A young punk.




There was a short ceremony in the yard under a tent.




Ellen took over for John in CVA's final years, and we worked side-by-side!


Heidi, an undergrad photo friend.


Barb and Carol, the computer ladies at CVA.


CVA friend Graham.

His house was filled with his artwork, and Lisabeth told everyone to take a piece of his before we left:

John loved alternative processes - there were some large cyanotypes on clotheslines in the yard as well.


My senior thesis invite (from 2003!) was out on display! He'd kept a lot of student work.


The infamous "beefcake calendar."


I'm not showing any more beyond this. :)

You were one of a kind, John. We shared some laughs and goofy stories in your name this past weekend. Thanks for all you taught us.

More about John in this post from last summer.

2022 MCAD Art Sale

This past weekend was the bigger-every-year MCAD Art Sale. I stopped by Friday night and took a quick look around before I became too overwhelmed. Here are a few pics:

[click any image for a larger version]

The main gallery and lines for checking out.


The main gallery.


The photography hallway.


One of my pieces at the upper left.


More of the photo hallway - I have a piece in the upper right and the one two spots to the left of that one.


Other side of the photo hallway.


Paintings back by the auditorium.


More paintings.


In the hallway to the studios.


A tiny section of the furniture area upstairs.


A lot of temporary walls set up in the lounge area on the 2nd floor.




More 2nd floor art.


The north side of the lounge area on the 2nd floor.


Heading toward the illustation section above the main gallery.


Over by the boutique (but I never made it all the way back to the boutique on the far right).


One final trip down the photo hallway.

I ended up selling a handful of pieces, so I'm happy to be bringing back home less than I dropped off!