Hay Bale Sculptures Reflect the Times
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With Halloween approaching, hay bale sculptures are beginning to crop up. These artistic creations range from the playful to the political. One of them on Highway 2 East of Chinook near Alfalfa Road features a currently viral meme, "Let's go, Brandon." Another features a likeness of Frankenstein.
According to Britannica.com, an online encyclopedia, British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins used the term meme in his book The Selfish Gene. Since the book's release in 1976, the term has become a pop culture sensation.
From the Greek mimema, meaning "imitated," the term identifies a unit of cultural information that is spread by imitation. Dawkins conceived of memes as the cultural parallel to biological genes and considered them, in a manner similar to "selfish" genes, as being in control of their own reproduction and thus serving their own ends. Understood in those terms, memes carry information, are replicated, and get transmitted from one person to another.
Today, a meme is a humorous image, video, or piece of text that is copied or given slight variations and that spreads rapidly by internet users. In fact, memes have become a viral trend where people may poke fun at an idea, behavior, or style through the use of pictures and/or slogans.
One such meme is the hashtag or phrase 'Let's Go, Brandon' used on social media as a protest of the current presidency. The phrase or hashtag relates to NASCAR racer Brandon Brown and to an incident which occurred when Brown won the Sparks 300 Race in the Xfinity Series at Talladega Superspeedway on October 2.
During a post-race interview, protesters were chanting against President Joe Biden. Because the chant calls into question the issue of appropriateness for all audiences, some people have taken to using "Let's go, Brandon" instead of the original. The slogan is painted on the Alfalfa Road sculpture of a pair that could be a farmer and his wife. The one figure-complete with a heart tattoo-is dressed in denim coveralls and a hat; the other wears a red dress.
Although Mariah Kellam takes credit for the creation of the "cute couple," she isn't sure what to think about the controversial meme.
A second sculpture is seasonal, welcoming the Halloween holiday. Nolan Overcast created a Frankenstein-like character that sits alongside North Fork Road.
According to Kellam, a few more hay sculptures may be appearing in the Milk River Valley in the coming weeks. Three additional area producers have expressed plans for construction.
