If you didn’t have a chance to make your way down to the Underground Gallery last First Friday, I would encourage you to take advantage of November 1st’s chance to see the show that will be up for one more month. The show, called “Ballyhoo” is a study of sideshow characters and banners, and it is a powerful exhibit on multiple levels.

The show is anchored by an amazing selection of actual sideshow banners from the collection of Dr. Chris Jones. These authentic relics are fascinating and historically pertinent to Central Indiana, where the city of Peru, Indiana, in Miami County, has been known as the “Circus City” since the late 1800s. The circus tradition is extremely important to this part of our state which is the home of the International Circus Hall of Fame and the Circus City Festival Museum. The curator of the show, Harrison Center artist Johnny McKee, understands this connection all too well having grown up in Miami County himself. His father and other family members worked in the circus, and as a child growing up he performed as a tumbler.

These vibrant banners are important as they tell us so much about the entertainment that attracted our attention in a time when our tastes were less sophisticated and the way we viewed humanity was different, to say the least. What’s exciting about this exhibit is that it doesn’t stop there. Johnny gathered artwork from a number of artists to show along side these relics, and the combination of historical pieces with contemporary artwork creates a show that is not only visually pleasing and interesting, but also asks relevant and powerful questions about how we respond to those who are different than we are. Wonderful works by Kipp Normand, Emma Overman, William Denton Ray, Kyle Ragsdale, Kate Oberreich, and others, combine to create a show that is colorful and curious.

For those interested in the historic background of the Sideshow banners, I recommend two books that Johnny shared with me that will lend additional perspective to the exhibit.

Freaks, Geeks & Strange Girls: Sideshow Banners of the Great American Midway, Hardy Marks Publications, 1995, ISBN 0-945367-15-5

Ballyhoo!