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Each summer when Glen Davies’ family made a pilgrimage to Chicago’s Riverview Park, he enjoyed the rides at the now defunct amusement mecca. But his fondest memories are of the sideshow where he caught his first glimpses of the Alligator Skinned Girl, Human Pincushion, and Rubber-Skinned Man.
Davies, a University of Illinois assistant professor of art and design, became a devoted sideshow fan. Now he studies sideshow banners, the colorful canvas signs that beckoned passersby to give themselves over to the exotic, the strange and the unknown. Prairie Fire looks at sideshow art through Davies’ eyes. “The sideshow banners became an inspiration for his own art,” said Prairie Fire host Alison Davis. The program also features an interview with Champaign magician Andy Dallas, who talks about how Davies is helping keep sideshow art alive today by painting banners for acts like Dallas’ magic show.
Segment duration: 08:37
Producer: Alison Davis
This segment is filed in these categories: Arts/Culture • Folklore • Illinois Culture/History
U have a awesome imagination. I m fan of ur paintings although I cant paint but i saw ur paintings i imagine, “may be I can paint like him ...”
Yup, another talented artist. Very colorful on the girl playing cello. Good job…
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