I mentioned to several friends this week the importance of showing ACTUAL artwork, with the object framed, hanging on a wall. I chose to hold my photograph. The sense of scale of my hands gives the viewer a glimpse into output decisions made by the artist…. aka, how the object is presented. The installation view offers a potential ‘collector’ precise information for what they might expect to see hang on their wall… the size of the mat (4”), the type of glazing (museum glass), frame (simple white), etc.

*Big Bird’s Tricycle, Redwood County Fair, Minnesota, 2022*, archival pigment print, Ed of 10 + 2AP, 29 x 33 inches framed

This print heads to a new home at the Redwood County Fair, looking sharp thanks to Jim Ross at Ross Frame shop, Minneapolis. He does great framing, reasonable prices, local. I pay him a little extra to paint the corners of the frame. I much prefer “closed corner frames” which do not have four diagonal lines in each corner which I find distracting. Art is 90% presentation. Most never pick up on those details.

Now, to the artwork. Last summer, I began setting up large-scale photographs with 4-H kids, animals, and symbols of Americana— a typical county fair with carnival rides, food booths.. the stuff kids love, all over-priced, unnecessary, yet joy-filled for the kid at heart. I wasn’t sure what this effort would become but enjoyed the process. This summer, I’ve up for more like commissions.

Recognize the tricycle? It was the one in the 2014 movie, I am Big Bird, now a fair mainstay. I’ll let Jeff Potter, a long-time county fair supporter, share the story of how it ended up at the fair for another time. He’s been a supporter of my work, even lifted me up on the front of a fork lift to create this photograph.

This work is apart of a new series, The Last Fair. Joy often isn’t fully appreciated until gone.