The Minnesota State Fair unveiled the most recent work of art to be inducted into its yearly commemorative art collection, and despite the medium, it looks anything but seedy.
Hand-created by Minneapolis crop artist Liz Schreiber, the art piece is made up of more than 29 unique kinds of seeds, ranging from seeds for growing vegetables to seeds for growing golf course grass.
Commemorative artists in years past have worked across many different mediums, such as photography, watercolor, and screen printing. In 2023, the medium is crops, a quirk quintessentially Minnesotan, according to Schreiber.
“It was the Minnesota State Fair that really popularized crop art, especially through the work of the late Lillian Colton… a master of the medium,” Schreiber said in an interview with the Fair. “But also, crop art ties into our state’s farming history. It’s an amalgamation of a lot of different things that are very Minnesotan.”
Right in the center of the piece is a Guernsey cow, surrounded by glow emanating from around her. The cow is corralled by a circle of colorful Skyride carts, with corndogs populating the bottom of the piece to really bring home the State Fair feeling.
The crop art was made with a toothpick, a bottle of Elmer’s glue, and many, many hours of work time.
“I worked on this artwork full time for six weeks, seven days per week. It took me approximately 300 hours total, not including the frame,” Schreiber said.
Despite the long hours spent working, though, the seed-filled artwork wasn’t deemed fruitless in the eyes of Schreiber, who is ecstatic to be added to the list of Minnesota State Fair Commemorative Artists.
The art, encased in custom bean framing, will be on display in the Fine Arts Center during the Great Minnesota Get-Together, taking place Aug. 24 through Labor Day, Sep. 4. The commemorative poster, as well as a limited number of signed prints, are also available for purchase.
For more examples of Schreiber’s crop artwork, visit cropartcreations.com.