Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time again! The Indiana State Fair is an annual celebration of Hoosier pride, farming, food, and 4-H, with amusement park rides and big-ticket concerts by musicians that other people love. My wife and I attend each year as a date-day to seek new forms of creativity and imagination within a local context. We’re not as thrilled about carnival rides as we used to be, and the State Fair almost never invites musicians I like. In between snacking experiments, our day at the fair tends to be all about sightseeing…

Another fun annual event is the Canstruction contest, which isn’t necessarily intended for local 4-H youngsters. Canstruction is a charitable organization that holds nationwide events in which engineers and other clever planners compete against each other in building the best sculpture made entirely from canned goods, preferably in recognizable shapes and not lazy Impressionist piles with titles like “Cleanup on Aisle 6”. After the judging and the public displaying are over, all those meticulously planned figures are torn down and the components are donated to local hunger relief charities, who in turn forward them to needy families totally unaware their next few meals used to be Art.

Exhibit A, picture above: Minions recreating Grant Wood’s “American Gothic”. The makers called it “FARMinions” as if the farming were the most important part. Begging to differ, I must insist this piece’s true name is “Aminion Gothic” whether they accept it or not.

Right this way for more familiar faces…in cans!