Pamela H. Simpson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780816676194
- eISBN:
- 9781452947921
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Minnesota Press
- DOI:
- 10.5749/minnesota/9780816676194.003.0002
- Subject:
- Art, Art History
This chapter focuses on crop art and cereal architecture. Midwest was the center for cereal architecture, crop art, and butter sculpture. The chapter explores the creation of cereal architecture ...
More
This chapter focuses on crop art and cereal architecture. Midwest was the center for cereal architecture, crop art, and butter sculpture. The chapter explores the creation of cereal architecture beginning with the work of Henry Worral, a pioneer in crop art who decorated the Kansas Building at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. He also provided other grain-covered displays for state, regional, and national fairs during the second half of the nineteenth century. Many cities celebrated their harvest festivals with street carnivals where grain-covered kiosks, miniature buildings, or giant sculptures were centerpieces for parades, games, parties, and concerts. These festivities attracted attention from investors and visitors impressed by the agricultural abundance evident in the crop-art structures.Less
This chapter focuses on crop art and cereal architecture. Midwest was the center for cereal architecture, crop art, and butter sculpture. The chapter explores the creation of cereal architecture beginning with the work of Henry Worral, a pioneer in crop art who decorated the Kansas Building at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. He also provided other grain-covered displays for state, regional, and national fairs during the second half of the nineteenth century. Many cities celebrated their harvest festivals with street carnivals where grain-covered kiosks, miniature buildings, or giant sculptures were centerpieces for parades, games, parties, and concerts. These festivities attracted attention from investors and visitors impressed by the agricultural abundance evident in the crop-art structures.
Pamela H. Simpson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780816676194
- eISBN:
- 9781452947921
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Minnesota Press
- DOI:
- 10.5749/minnesota/9780816676194.001.0001
- Subject:
- Art, Art History
Teddy Roosevelt’s head sculpted from butter. The Liberty Bell replicated in oranges. The Sioux City Corn Palace of 1891 encased with corn, grains, and grasses and stretching for two city blocks—with ...
More
Teddy Roosevelt’s head sculpted from butter. The Liberty Bell replicated in oranges. The Sioux City Corn Palace of 1891 encased with corn, grains, and grasses and stretching for two city blocks—with a trolley line running down its center. Between 1870 and 1930, from county and state fairs to the world’s fairs, large exhibition buildings were covered with grains, fruits, and vegetables to declare in no uncertain terms the rich agricultural abundance of the United States. At the same fairs—but on a more intimate level—ice-cooled cases enticed fairgoers to marvel at an array of butter sculpture models including cows, buildings, flowers, and politicians, all proclaiming the rich bounty and unending promise held by the region. Often viewed as mere humorous novelties—fun and folksy, but not worthy of serious consideration—these lively forms of American art are described in this book. From the pioneering cereal architecture of Henry Worrall at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition to the vast corn palaces displayed in Sioux City, Iowa, and elsewhere between 1877 and 1891, the book brings to life these dazzling large-scale displays in turn-of-the-century American fairs and festivals. It guides through the fascinating forms of crop art and butter sculpture, as they grew from state and regional fairs to a significant place at the major international exhibitions. The Minnesota State Fair’s Princess Kay of the Milky Way contest, Lillian Colton’s famed pictorial seed art, and the work of Iowa’s “butter cow lady,” Norma “Duffy” Lyon, are modern versions of this tradition.Less
Teddy Roosevelt’s head sculpted from butter. The Liberty Bell replicated in oranges. The Sioux City Corn Palace of 1891 encased with corn, grains, and grasses and stretching for two city blocks—with a trolley line running down its center. Between 1870 and 1930, from county and state fairs to the world’s fairs, large exhibition buildings were covered with grains, fruits, and vegetables to declare in no uncertain terms the rich agricultural abundance of the United States. At the same fairs—but on a more intimate level—ice-cooled cases enticed fairgoers to marvel at an array of butter sculpture models including cows, buildings, flowers, and politicians, all proclaiming the rich bounty and unending promise held by the region. Often viewed as mere humorous novelties—fun and folksy, but not worthy of serious consideration—these lively forms of American art are described in this book. From the pioneering cereal architecture of Henry Worrall at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition to the vast corn palaces displayed in Sioux City, Iowa, and elsewhere between 1877 and 1891, the book brings to life these dazzling large-scale displays in turn-of-the-century American fairs and festivals. It guides through the fascinating forms of crop art and butter sculpture, as they grew from state and regional fairs to a significant place at the major international exhibitions. The Minnesota State Fair’s Princess Kay of the Milky Way contest, Lillian Colton’s famed pictorial seed art, and the work of Iowa’s “butter cow lady,” Norma “Duffy” Lyon, are modern versions of this tradition.
Pamela H. Simpson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780816676194
- eISBN:
- 9781452947921
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Minnesota Press
- DOI:
- 10.5749/minnesota/9780816676194.003.0004
- Subject:
- Art, Art History
This chapter examines the role of cereal architecture, crop art, and butter sculpture at the major international expositions of Chicago in 1893, Buffalo in 1901, Saint Louis in 1904, and San ...
More
This chapter examines the role of cereal architecture, crop art, and butter sculpture at the major international expositions of Chicago in 1893, Buffalo in 1901, Saint Louis in 1904, and San Francisco in 1915. It describes the Columbian Exposition’s new style of architecture introduced by the State of Iowa. This new style referred to temples covered with decorative grain cladding that filled the Agricultural Hall and the state pavilions. Kansas built a pavilion decorated with corn and wheat that spelled out how many millions of bushels of each had been harvested the year before. California showed a citrus tower, an orange-covered Liberty Bell, and a full-scale equestrian knight in prunes. Iowa’s building featured emblems of the arts and industries delineated in 130 varieties of grain.Less
This chapter examines the role of cereal architecture, crop art, and butter sculpture at the major international expositions of Chicago in 1893, Buffalo in 1901, Saint Louis in 1904, and San Francisco in 1915. It describes the Columbian Exposition’s new style of architecture introduced by the State of Iowa. This new style referred to temples covered with decorative grain cladding that filled the Agricultural Hall and the state pavilions. Kansas built a pavilion decorated with corn and wheat that spelled out how many millions of bushels of each had been harvested the year before. California showed a citrus tower, an orange-covered Liberty Bell, and a full-scale equestrian knight in prunes. Iowa’s building featured emblems of the arts and industries delineated in 130 varieties of grain.
Pamela H. Simpson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780816676194
- eISBN:
- 9781452947921
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Minnesota Press
- DOI:
- 10.5749/minnesota/9780816676194.003.0005
- Subject:
- Art, Art History
This chapter focuses on cereal architecture. It discusses the role of boosters in the promotion of the Midwest. Several case studies offer evidence of patterns of overlapping interests in land ...
More
This chapter focuses on cereal architecture. It discusses the role of boosters in the promotion of the Midwest. Several case studies offer evidence of patterns of overlapping interests in land speculation, railroads, agriculture, and industrial development. The chapter explains that boosterism was based on the premise that any town could become an important urban center if its leading citizens did enough to promote its unique potential. It also examines the iconography of the corn palaces, beginning with their use of Moorish architectural forms to evoke a festive exoticism. The examination of corn-palace imagery introduces both the symbolic representation of American Indians and their active participation in the entertainments and parades.Less
This chapter focuses on cereal architecture. It discusses the role of boosters in the promotion of the Midwest. Several case studies offer evidence of patterns of overlapping interests in land speculation, railroads, agriculture, and industrial development. The chapter explains that boosterism was based on the premise that any town could become an important urban center if its leading citizens did enough to promote its unique potential. It also examines the iconography of the corn palaces, beginning with their use of Moorish architectural forms to evoke a festive exoticism. The examination of corn-palace imagery introduces both the symbolic representation of American Indians and their active participation in the entertainments and parades.
