Butter Sculpture, Crop Art and State Fairs, a U.S. Creative Treasure Trove
The cow in the photo above is sculptured from 600 pounds of pure cream butter. It resides in a temperature-controlled showcase at the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C., one of 240 featured treasures in the Renwick’s current exhibit, State Fairs: Growing American Craft.
Before the Smithsonian’s museums closed, along with most of the government, my wife and I visited this showcase of our nation’s industry and creativity. What a collection!
For many years I developed strategies, produced media and managed political campaigns. State fairs and 4th of July parades are big days on political calendars for candidates. Huge crowds and spirited and joyful celebrations are guaranteed. During their brief season, state fairs collectively attract about 30 million people, more than those who attend NFL football games.
Our museum visit recalled memories of many exciting days spent at state fairs. The rides, game booths, the corn dogs and other inventive foods, yes. But also visible demonstrations of American spirit, ingenuity and creativity. That includes agriculture, where the state fair was born.
It takes a special kind of skill to grow a 138-pound cabbage and a 65-pound cantaloupe, as shown at the Alaska state fair.
Or a 1,200-pound giant pumpkin in Virginia.
Butter art, like the cow shown above, originated with nineteenth century farm women. Now it’s a popular feature at many state and worlds’ fairs.
Are you impressed by butter art? Well, let me introduce you to crop art if you haven’t yet been exposed to it.
Crop Art and Creative Traditions
Crop art? Yes. This image of actress/comedian Lucille Ball is created from African cosmos, alfalfa, amaranth, balloon plant, canary grass, rapeseed, Cream of Wheat, hulled white millet, lima bean, poppy, red pine needle, white pine needle, balsam pine needle, Sudan grass pod, and trefoil.
If you visit the Renwick or buy its exhibit catalogue you will see dozens of examples of crop art, images of Dolly Parton, Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan and other notables.
Celebrating the American Spirit at State Fairs
The exhibit is a treasure trove of ingenuity expressed in a wide range of arts and crafts: quilts, an earthenware corn dog vase, benches created in the style of large brooms, a pair of 12-foot-high, size 96 boots usually “worn” by Big Tex at the Texas State Fair.
Just about every item on exhibit was shown at various state fairs in the U.S., most of them blue ribbon winners. The artists represented spent countless hours producing their creations in small studios, garages and other workplaces, not for money, but for the joy of it. For the pleasure of others. For the uniquely American tradition of the State Fair.
In 2026, expect these fairs to be supercharged in commemoration of America’s 250th birthday. They will be great fun to visit and symbolically they will remind us of the good and beautiful heritage we share as Americans. Even a national “state fair” is on the agenda of those organizing the nationwide celebration.
As I write this, the Renwick and other Smithsonian museums are temporarily closed due to political gridlock, but the Renwick’s State Fair exhibit is scheduled for a long run, until September 7, 2026.
Here’s this week’s STEM Winder: A weekly look into the future.
Comments? Criticism? Contact Joe Rothstein at jrothstein@rothstein.net
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