For the past six years I've organized a top 10 list of artworks at the fair, but this is my first year thinking about crop art. A Minnesota State Fair favorite and this year's flavor of the Star Tribune's lip balm, the crop art exhibition is nestled inside the Agriculture & Horticulture building.
This year there were 407 crop art entries, and all are on view at the exhibition. More than 100 received recognition.
Crop art, or essentially art from seeds, is made from tracing a design onto a board, then filling it in with a variety of seeds. The most impressive examples realistically portrayed faces and multiple dimensions. Seed art in the wearable category was so fashionable that it was hard to discern that it was actually made of seeds. Crop artworks that skillfully rendered social commentary, smart pop culture references and art that didn't rely on words to communicate its meaning were exciting.
Here is a list of the top 10 seed artworks in no particular order.
Minnesota Woke
Teresa Anderson of St. Paul rendered an LGBTQ-rights message onto a seed version of Minnesota with the text "Where Woke Goes to Bloom!" and a rainbow bursting across it. In addition, she provided info about the state's progressive politics passed in 2023, such as increased education funding, background checks for private gun transfers, banned LGBTQ conversion therapy, and that Minnesota is a trans refugee state, among other facts. (Second place, Irregular Forms, Class 6 Advanced category)
Grateful Dead
Julie Rainey of Minneapolis imagines the Grateful Dead's album "Wake of the Flood" that looks like the Grim Reaper cutting wheat, which is rather apropos for this show. What a long, strange trip it's been. The playfulness of subject and deft attention to seedy detail through the use of eight seed types made this fun to see. (Second place, Special Occasion, Class 11 Amateur)
