An artist/scholar goes to Branson
“I actually just drove through Kansas City yesterday” I replied to my seat mate who had flown up and who was also cheering for the Royals at Target Field in Minneapolis. He’d just asked, “do you get back to KC often?” As much as I fight to say I’m a Minnesotan, after recently celebrating my 20 year anniversary of moving here from Kansas, when I show up to a Twins game in Royals’ blue I even confuse myself. What I do know is that I was born a Royals fan, and I hope when the time comes I will also die one. I was with my Hermana who had purchased the tickets for us and lovingly “swiped her card” for our meals and beers. She really knows how to do a ballpark. On the drive down to the cities from the ChicFinn she researched the best foods at the stadium and upon entrance through the gate, we strolled directly to the bahn mi brat from Hmong Kitchen and the Meat and Mac from East Coast BBQ (which were in my estimation both worthy of the home run ranking they received on many a food blog). We chose the rib tips as our topper and while I am mostly a pescatarian these days this foray into the meats was delicious. I’m not sure my body is happy with me for that decision.
I had also just driven through the Twin Cities area (like less than 24 hours ago) on the way back from Branson, Missouri. Vaimo and I reunited with my Uncle and Aunty for a weekend of fun in a place we could only figure to describe as a kid-friendly backwoods Vegas without the casinos. There are so many shows and theaters but the acts reminded me of time traveling back to an era that doesn’t quite exist anymore but also is very much on this plane. Think a version of the knock-off version of the Grand Ole Opry with lesser known but perhaps not any lesser talented musicians gracing the stage. Think grainy narrativized biographical retellings of Loretta Lynn’s life story, but the Lifetime-made-for-television version instead of the major motion picture version. Think Disneyland facade instead of the real deal rococo flourish in France. This isn’t to put down that vibe, or to knock down the fun that was had, because I love me a Lifetime movie and I love a rundown but still kicking aesthetic. Branson was something that had only previously lived in my imagination, and now my imagination has been given more qualities to fill out the stories I’ve heard about my Grandma Creel and Great Aunt Barbara June who loved to go to Branson - a quick 5 hour drive from Wichita where they both lived.
There were some very surprising (to me anyways) things that seemed to be thriving in Branson, beside the new/renovated hotel and timeshare builds - and that was the mini golf courses. As a major fan of the Hinkle Family Fun Center right down the hill from my childhood home in the NE Heights of Albuquerque, which had in what is my estimation-before laying eyes on these themed mini-golf courses of Branson- one of the best and most involved courses. I mean you putt-putted under a fake rock formation with a waterfall for goodness sake! But in Branson there’s an exploration a-la Indiana Jones with a real fallen plane and a skull cavern with glowing eyes. There’s another course with dinosaurs, another with pirates, in fact as I turned to the internet for details about the mini golf in Branson I was reminded that not only are there these beautifully crafted and exciting outdoor courses but hotels and resorts host their own courses as well. You could honestly make a week out of mini-golfing every single course in Branson.
Was the decline of mini-golf popularity in the 90s with the shift of kids’ interest in indoor and personalized entertainment taking place within homes on computer screen and video game consoles like this article suggests? Or were there other factors to blame? I know I routinely pass a dead mini-golf course on Highway 59 outside of Detroit Lakes that pales in comparison to Branson’s theatrics and serves as beacon of another era for lake-goers. There’s this level of kitsch that exists in the public presentation of a mini-golf course and also a personal nostalgia. I’d not previously thought of this as yet another instance of the public and private colliding but of course it is, as a public site for private (family) gatherings. It’s a wholesome and fun family activity that I used to love doing with my Hermanitas. I’m loving that we did an art-themed mini-golf course at summer camp this year on the rooftop of the Walker Art Museum and if my sisters would have been with me in Branson, I have no doubt they would have also been advocating for round or several at all the cool courses there.
Honestly, it makes me wonder if John Waters has ever been to Branson. I am so intrigued by the question, I might email him to ask him. And whether or not he responds, I might write a fan fic story that gets turned into a film (hmmm narrative of documentary?) about John Waters visiting Branson. Imagine the cult classic mash up of that! I think I’ll set the major action at the Shoji Tabuchi Theater - which to my dismay was permanently closed due to an electrical fire inside the stage area. But the visuals on the exterior of this building make me want to know more about it and the late fiddler Shoji Tabuchi who used to perform there with his family! I’m digressing because I'm excited by this color scheme, and man, to see it lit up?! I bet that would have been so fun to see. I get the sense that the average person who visits Branson is not as tied into the theatrical community or even the arts community that I am, but that’s also not quite right. For they too are in fact patrons of the arts as entertainment shows of all sorts scramble for your attention on billboards and in flashing lights. And the two shows we took in - Queen Ester at the Sight and Sound Theater and Dolly’s Stampede were mighty full audiences. It’s a good reminder to not be too tied to initial assumptions we might carry about others. I was reminded of that again when Hermana’s seat mate at Target Field shared that he was listening to a Wagner opera on his pontoon and crying on the lake the day before. Art truly transcends beyond the boxes in which we categorize ourselves and others.
John Waters is on my mind because Hermanitas and I were at the Minnesota Fringe Festival the week prior supporting my BFF’s written, produced, and performed show Francis Grey and the Case of His Dead Boyfriend: A One-Man Whodunnit where I worked on the puppets for his show! When Hermanitas and I weren’t slinging merch we took in three performances of Francis Grey and worked in four other Fringe Festival shows. I must say, this imaginative Divine/Gypsy mash up from the crew of drag performers who call themselves the Blair Kitch Project has our King of Filth on my mind. The description of the show reads, “Somewhere in an imaginary universe, the musical Gypsy was directed by John Waters, with Divine assuming the role of Mama Rose. What ensues is a mess of pure camp, filthy antics, & the limits of a mother's love.” And so, yeah, I’m imagining the Pope of Trash meeting drag entertainers on stage (seriously, there’s a long-time running show called Legends with all the pop culture faves portrayed by performers in full drag) in a tourist town sustaining not one but possibly THREE Trump paraphernalia stores. What happens when John Waters runs into Marilyn Monroe on Shepard of the Hills Expressway? The mockumentary is writing itself at this point.
In an alternate universe Dr. KCF is writing an academic article based on ethnographic research done on site over the course of a nine-month residency in Branson. She’s gotten to know performers, the customer service staff who live outside of town and drive in daily to work their hotel or restaurant shifts, and she’s pinned down a working theory on why time-share - nay “vacation ownership” - is a thriving scene in Branson. She’s recreated the daily practice her Grandmother once perfected of doing a three-show day. The working title of the paper involves an esoteric throwback to queer theory with a dash of theater studies performativity. There’s a gritty glitz and glam which meets cowboy (Mexican rodeo) rural aesthetics that just really makes me want to spend more time understanding its complexities. I may not know where I am when I wake up in another hotel bed (currently- Red Wing, MN) but I have my commemorative Dolly’s Stampede double horse t-shirt, a new straw cowboy hat, and a new pair of boots courtesy of my loving Aunty and Uncle who invited us to one of their favorite places. And honestly, it’s really fun to be surprised in this world that can sometimes feel like a record of doom and gloom on repeat. Before last weekend Branson only existed in stories told to me by family members; now I have my own memories and deep gratitude for the experience I never would have picked myself. Vaimo and I are planning our next must-see shows for the next time on the Branson strip. Oh what a world this is that a place like Branson can exist in the past and in our present. What a gift to be able to experience Branson with my family in real time, and for the opportunity to make memories together. And what a gift to be reminded of the kitsch of my youth that will be definitely making its way in to some paintings to come.
From the Archive:
Four years ago August 14, 2020 Ritual Change
Three years ago August 3, 2021 Art is Home
Two years ago August 14, 2022 Visiting Hours
Artist Offerings
I enjoyed this deep thinking on the social, cultural, and economic considerations for paño arte
I’m looking forward to this virtual conversation (Sept5) hosted by the Mellon Foundation with Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland on art and public lands
I was intrigued by this Virgen de Guadalupe Shrine in KC and the community efforts to save it
I enjoyed learning about Juan Moya’s art practices also in Kansas City
The paintings Keith Haring’s traveling exhibition currently at the Walker in Minneapolis were amazing and I was moved to tears a few times
I was so happy to make it to see Luis Fitch’s exhibition up at the Bloomington Art Center - if you’re in the area definitely add it to your list, free to see and up through September 15
Creative Ritual
I have been on quite a wild travel ride that really began in early May, but I am on the last leg of the travels right now. Until of course I drive down to St. Paul on September 7th for the opening of the Latina/Latinx Minnesota show in which I am debuting a new piece alongside 41 other artists! I dropped the painting off a few weeks ago and it was well received. From my first (here’s hoping only) bout of COVID I lost 10 days to rest and recovery, but am eager to get back into the studio soon for my next pilgrimage. Join me if you can at my upcoming stitch in at Springboard for the Arts in Fergus Falls, Thursday Aug 22 3-5pm. I also have some big news to announce about a nearby artist residency I’ll be doing in October-December… but you’ll have to tune in next time to learn about it. The work continues!
Questions to ponder
What is your relationship to kitsch?
Where does/did your grandma vacation?
Is there a team you’ve been rooting for your whole life? How has that relationship shifted or changed with time?
What has surprised you lately and why?
Thanks for journeying with me. I hope, as always, that you take what you need and leave the rest for someone else, or for another time. As always, your support one-time or monthly truly puts the wind in my sails.
-KCF