I had to see who beat my diorama of Painless Parker Dentist, the famed oddball and disgrace to the dental profession who
la première place/first place winner
notoriously pulled teeth at fairs, charging clients $1.50 per tooth and promising a whole whopping $5.00 if he caused any pain. While it is impossible these days to get a tooth pulled out at the fair, one may still see pig races and get a back massage. The fair is still strange.
Anyway, not to digress, pictures of the winners are posted to the side and below. I must say I was a little disappointed to find that the top ten entries which The Fresno Bee promised to show turned into the top 25 or so, no distinctions being made amongst any since each one of us was given an honorable mention.
My disappointment was greatest when I came upon my own entry and found that it had been ripped apart and dismantled: all four wood pillars broken, top removed and torn, and a full wall of the kiosk barricade likewise ripped out, on which I had glued the printed out pictures and ads of the dental practice in the circa 1916 era. Not surprisingly, the little boy on top of the tent was also pulled off. A big “do not touch” sign was left on top of the exhibit.
My sole consolation is thinking that I lost because the damage was perhaps done before judging commenced, and that perhaps the judges were dizzy from just coming in from the pig races.
*** Update:
The Fresno Bee told me someone visiting the fair fell on my diorama. That makes me feel so much better.
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second place winner/
Deuxième place
Aujourd’hui mon mari et moi sommes allés à la foire de Fresno où je voulais voir les trois oeuvres gagnants dans la concours artistique organisé par le Fresno Bee, un journal de notre ville. Je savais que j’avais perdu, donc je m’imaginais que les gagnants du concours devraient être incroyables.
Mon propre oeuvre était une mise en scène de poupées: j’ai montré un dentiste americain mal famé (depuis la fin du XIXe siècle ) qui a eu un kiosque à la foire de Fresno pendant des années. Il arrachait des dents avec une tenaille sans anesthésie. Il s’appelait “Painless Parker”; c’est a dire, “Parker-Sans-Douleur.”
L’oeuvre de première place etait un grand origami sans couleur qui doit signifier grande chose aux juges. J’ai du mal à voir le lien entre l’origami, le journal, et la foire, mais je n’habite a Fresno que depuis 6 ans. Peut-être que je compendrai un jour.
Prochaine, l’oeuvre de deuxième place était un couple de jeunes mariés. Si seulement j’avais su que les grands oeuvres–excusez moi–les oeuvres de grande tailles plairaient aux juges plus que n’importe autre chose, j’aurai pu m’arranger pour gagner. Malheureusement, cette astuce manquait dans les règles.
Un gros dinosaure a remporté la troisième place.
J’avais envie de pleurer,mais mon mari m’a offert un nouveau chapeau que j’avais admiré. C’est vraiment joli.
Oeuvre détruite/ Demolished diorama
This doll has been in the works for a dozen years. Her body shape came at a point when I was fascinated by exaggeration: what had begun simply with long legs in other dolls was accentuated in this doll’s teeny waist, long arms and long neck. 
