- The Iowa State Fair by Kurt Ullrich
The Iowa State Fair is in the cultural dna of many Iowans, for whom the annual event is an important family and community gathering. Several fine books have been written about the Fair, and all are worth reading. Yet a new book has arrived that offers a different and unique perspective—that of a photographic consideration of the Fair during the 2013 season. Whether or not it was the author’s intention, he has created what appears to be a casual visual ethnographic work—just a guy walking around the Fair with a camera.
The book is organized into sections including history, sounds, animals, competition, commerce, and youth. The photographer is Kurt Ullrich of rural Jackson County, Iowa. A fine photographer, he’s also a good writer, and his lovely, warm narrative had me longing for more. Yet, he steps aside and lets his 106 black and white photos tell the story.
A quick thumb-through will provide insights into the Fair, the activities pursued, products displayed, and how Iowans engage in a variety of ways. It also elicits a wide range of emotions, including pride and humor, nearly instantaneously, and this is likely how the general public will engage with [End Page 142] the book, and will be delighted by it. As valuable as the other books about the Fair are, they are by and large reference works, and engaging in them in a meaningful way is hard work. There is none of that hard work for us with Ullrich’s book—he simply places us at the Fair by his side, and we’re free to roam, enjoy, and learn. There is also much for the scholar in the book, as the images provided offer much food for thought, and room for analysis that the other works don’t provide.
The photos tell us about the Iowa State Fair, sure, but they also tell us about Iowa and Iowans. Consider, for example, the first photo in the book. The image is of a pretty girl on a quarter horse, smiling as she rides toward the photographer. She’s putting the horse through its paces in the ring with a seemingly oblivious crowd behind her. She wears the classic satin banner of a beauty queen, cowgirl hat, and a western style fringed jacket, and lots of rhinestones. Her attire reflects our desired association with the west, only glamorized. Her hat and the fringe on her jacket reflect once functional aspects of clothing that now have only symbolic meaning; as does her horse, since there are few working horses on Iowa farms anymore. Reference points in this photo, and throughout the book, are the west, our history, and a respect for past cultural traditions.
One of my favorite photographs is one of the iconic butter cow—only in this shot, the butter cow itself is out of focus and only gains clarity through the viewfinder of a digital camera held in the air by a woman viewing the exhibit. I took this as a humorous commentary on how so many of us are increasingly looking at the world around us through a variety of digital lenses.
Some of the photographs are from the air; others are from ground level. I can almost see Ullrich on his belly or dangling from a tree working his camera. We see carnival rides during all times of the day, and the Fair against the Des Moines skyline. In some of the photographs the composition is exquisite, but never posed. In others, it seems like there was no thought as to composition, and these are some of the best—like an image of middle-aged campers sitting around talking and laughing as chip bags, cracker boxes, and wine bottles pile up. Another is the backstage photo taken during a Hairball concert. In the left foreground an out-of-focus crewmember in sunglasses appears to be holding his earphone and perhaps speaking stage instructions into a microphone. Behind him and to the right are two members of the...
