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"Surfer Harold" Spectacularly fat people of both genders were often featured in "single-o" grind shows as well as in conventional sideshows or "ten-in-ones". A standard "single-o" would have a five banner front with two banners on each side of the doorway and an entrance banner in the center. The banners were usually "situational" in the sense that the focal character would be shown in a variety of settings doing things that emphasized the individual's physical peculiarity.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

CLICK TO ENLARGE

"Voltara" Almost every sideshow carried an "electric act", a girl who was somehow rendered immune to effects of high voltage electricity. This was, of course, an illusion - but a good one. Most of the banners done on the subject showed the girl seated in a penitentiary style electric chair which, in fact, is what the patrons would see in the show. In this depiction, I opted to eliminate the chair. The dark humor here is that I took one of the few acts portrayed factually on a sideshow bannerline and presented, instead, a sort of sci-fi fantasy that was, most emphatically, not going to happen inside the tent.

And that, figuratively speaking, is the ground floor of the gallery, my friends.

As time goes by we'll get in the elevator and go to the next floor and you'll get to see more of the things that I've painted. There are many more floors to visit and the building's still under construction.

Mostly, I want you to have fun in my gallery and not take either me or it too seriously. I can assure you that I don't!

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