When Summer draws to an end, it is time for the Minnesota State Fair, one of the world’s great spectacles. You might expect a state fair to be a refuge from the daily onslaught of politics, but that is not the case. The parties have booths, and even in an odd-numbered year, politicians have booths. Still, this year’s event was low-key, politically, until you entered the seed section of the agriculture building:

We have written several times before about seed art, also known as crop art. Basically, the artist glues seeds of different types or colors to a board or other substrate to make a picture. One might expect this sort of folk art to be dominated by conservative ideas and values, but in fact it slants heavily to the left. This year, Trump Derangement Syndrome took over–with the judges as well as seed artists, apparently, as some of the anti-Trump designs won prizes.

Part of the seed art wall:

This one, a tribute to Elizabeth Warren and feminism, won a ribbon. “Nevertheless, she persisted.” It is a little hard to make out, but the design includes a woman with a sword and a dragon:

This one is a classic. I like the imperial Japanese motif:

This one tries (facetiously, anyway) to make a virtue out of not being very good. Liberals love the “alternative facts” theme, I’m not sure why:

This entry won a prize in the age 12 and under division. It is scary to think of an 11- or 12-year-old creating crop art in honor of Ruth Bader Ginsburg:

That’s crazy, but not as crazy as honoring our pal Al:

This one shows Minneapolis’s Lake Calhoun, or–as some now call it–Lake Bde Maka Ska. They may call it that, but they can’t pronounce it either. Because Lake Calhoun turns out to have been named for John C. Calhoun when he was Secretary of War, and the lake was discovered by a group of soldiers:

Liberals believe there is no such thing as “the Other,” except for Republicans on college campuses. Note the cowboy wearing a dress:

I saved the Trump-hatred for last. This one is “POTUS the Tortoise,” and is based on a Dr. Seuss rhyme. It is actually fairly clever (“I know, up on top you are seeing great sights, But down at the bottom we, too, should have rights.”), so if you click it will enlarge:

This one is long on hate and short on seed art skill:

So, what is Smokey the Bear resisting? A man standing in line next to my wife explained that the Trump administration is planning on abolishing the national parks. Or something. But wait–Smokey is about to start a fire! That hardly seems right:

This bit of anti-Trump propaganda is State Fair-themed: Trump and Putin share a Pronto Pup:

I wouldn’t want you to think that all of our seed artists are loco, so here are a few non-political works. This one is extraordinarily well done. Why Buster Keaton? I don’t know:

Unless I am missing something, this flag is un-ironic and patriotic:

And, finally, this three-dimensional seed art is a tribute to Sweet Martha’s chocolate chip cookies, which are sold only at the Fair, and mostly in buckets. Last year, Sweet Martha’s sold $4 million worth of cookies in the 12 days of the Fair:

That’s enough for now. Maybe tomorrow I will do another post about the rest of the Fair.