When Erika Camplin was tapped to help put together the Minnesota pavilion at the Great American State Fair, there was one thing she knew she had to include: crop art.
The Minnesota fan favorite is showcased yearly at the Minnesota State Fair and always draws lines zig-zagging through the Ag-Hort building. In recent years it has grown at a rapid rate, with so many people submitting that they’re running out of display space. But that hasn’t stopped the artists from conspiring throughout the year to be ready for the end of August.
Camplin’s coworker posted in the local crop art community Facebook page asking if anyone would be interested in having their work displayed at the Great American State Fair, and several artists reached out. The focus was picking pieces that best represented the state on a national level, and three were chosen: The Al’s Breakfast building in Minneapolis by Ike Whiting, a “croppie” fish by Christy Klancher (a play on the crappie), and a piece by Marta Shore depicting a star from music venue First Avenue like the ones honoring rock stars, but hers is for a “crop star.”
“I think crop art is where Minnesota's agricultural heritage kind of meets its creative spirit. It's such a uniquely Minnesota tradition that reminds us of all the things we can grow that nourish us and inspire us and tell our story,” Camplin said.
“I know other states do it, but I think that in Minnesota there's become this sort of a beautiful cult community and culture around it that is uniquely Minnesotan, and it just feels so representative and beautiful of us.”
Explore Minnesota partnered with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, where Camplin works as a food business development administrator, to plan the pavilion. The Great American State Fair planned to have pavilions from every state and territory, but several have declined to participate, citing concerns about costs or the politicization of the event.
According to Camplin, Minnesota’s pavilion focuses on nature, agriculture and food. There is a Paul Bunyan mural, a soundscape, a loon game and 19,000 seed packets containing a Minnesota pollinator mix to hand out to the public. And, of course, crop art.
Whiting has been making crop art since 2021. He has created several iconic pieces like “Holy Crop,” the “Honk If You Love Naz Reid” sign and the Farm AID 40 logo. When the opportunity came up for people to see his work on a national level, he accepted. But, he does have mixed feelings.
“There has been a lot of thoughts and conversations about the inclusion of one of my pieces of art in this event I don’t 100 percent back and agree with and support. But I guess what I keep coming back to is if we let them, these national organizers, depict Minnesota on our behalf, we’ve already seen how the federal government has been treating Minnesota as a state for over a year now — I just wouldn’t trust them to depict our state in a fair way,” he said.
Whiting is working on several pieces for the Minnesota State Fair about the immigration-enforcement surge, including depictions of the Rebel Loon and an observer whistle.
Whiting hopes that people visit the Minnesota pavilion and feel proud. And, he teased, the crop art at this year's Minnesota State Fair is going to be some of the best.
“This is just another way for us to show the world that Minnesota is a great place, despite what anybody else is saying about it,” he said.
The Great American State Fair runs through July 10 at the National Mall in Washington D.C.
