Mark Golden on Paint

It was such a sorry state of affairs to visit this year’s art show at the New York State Fair. Some wonderful paintings and photography sitting in a series of rooms that were more suited for the strung out antique show of organs, pianos and other musical instruments. The exhibits of rabbits and chickens had a much more elaborate and developed display. Maybe this is as it should be at a State Fair. It is wonderful to see the rural nature of New York on display. To see the horse shows and the cattle paraded. Who would believe that a rabbit could be the size of a large dog… amazing!

In truth, the Fair is getting old. Enough with the butter sculpture already… A State with one of the richest traditions in art and culture can’t put on a show that even competes with a local art fair. My suggestion for the Art Exhibit is to stop it until they have enough energy and resources to do a great job. I’m sure just like any organization, their resources are spread thin. Maybe they can just concentrate on student art, or simply put these efforts into making the agriculture exhibit that much more representative of what’s really going on around the state. I think they might take some lessons from the arts….. Less is more.