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Minnesota State Fair

Lizzo, Prince, Freddie Mercury, and more music tributes in Minnesota State Fair crop art 2019

Photos by Jay Gabler/MPR
Photos by Jay Gabler/MPR

by Jay Gabler

August 22, 2019

It's amazing what diverse themes Minnesotans manage to fit into a single wall of the Horticulture Building each year at the Minnesota State Fair. Crop art has become one of the Fair's most famous exhibits, as Gopher State residents pay tribute to the famous, the infamous, the ordinary, and the extraordinary in the form of portraits rendered in seeds from Minnesota crops.

Alongside the usual political cartoons and timely tributes (Apollo 11, natch), this year's music-themed crop art creations include renderings of Lizzo, Prince, Freddie Mercury, Drake, and Johnny Cash. Crop art great Linda Paulsen, whose Dolly Parton portrait hangs on the nearby wall of fame, has a handsome image of Lin-Manuel Miranda in the mix this year. Jill Moe, the wife of Hilarious World of Depression host John Moe, even adapted the Unknown Pleasures cover for a "Soy Division" tribute.

Here's a comprehensive gallery of this year's music-themed crop art offerings. Nearby, you can enjoy an even more elaborate Prince tribute — in flowers. With music.

Crop art guitar Minnesota State Fair
Dolly Parton crop art Minnesota State Fair
Drake crop art Minnesota State Fair
Freddie Mercury crop art Minnesota State Fair
Johnny Cash crop art Minnesota State Fair
Joy Division crop art Minnesota State Fair
Judy Garland crop art Minnesota State Fair
Lin Manuel Miranda crop art Minnesota State Fair
Line Dance crop art Minnesota State Fair
Prince crop art 2019 Minnesota State Fair
Clean Water Land & Legacy Amendment
This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.