Calliopes and Cameras: Photography at The Circus World Museum
Colin Cameron, Jessie Eisner-Kleyle and Tom Jones, 2007

The magnificent spectacle of the circus tradition came to America in the late 1700s and its menagerie of exotic animals, wild characters, and never-before-seen acts of daring immediately captivated the American public. With the invention and proliferation of the camera, photographers were equally fascinated with this newer genre of entertainment. They found a wealth of captivating circus imagery to present to an eager American audience. Today, as the modern circus evolves into something entirely new, the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin, is devoted to keeping the history of the circus intact and American audiences enthralled.  

The land where the Ringling Bros. Circus began to winter in 1884, also known as Ringlingville, is a cornerstone of the Wisconsin Historical Society’s Historical Sites Division. Drawn to the imagery available under and around the Big Top, nine photographers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison spent the summer of 2006 exploring the historical grounds at the Circus World Museum. The staff at the museum welcomed the photographers - the receptionist ushered them in, the costumer gave them special tours and even the elephant trainer’s daughters took an interest. The group got to know the Chinese acrobats, their trainer, the long-term ringmaster and his assistants, and of course, Doodles the Clown. The sixty-odd acres of land gave each photographer ample space to seek out unique and varied areas of interest. Shaun Martin’s Bug coupled the most exotic and dazzling details of the circus with the metallic colors of a familiar Japanese beetle against the backdrop of a vibrant yellow bench. The vivid hues of the circus became Amy McMillion’s special forte. McMillion’s Green Window, a handsome examination of a green-framed window, resembles a Dutch master study in the way in which the details inside and beyond the glass are revealed.

There are more than three million pieces of historical circus memorabilia housed at the Circus World Museum. Some of the old costumes are displayed on mannequins, but many more are in storage. Within the complex of buildings is the workshop where, at one time, a staff of forty seamstresses labored to repair costumes for the astounding acts of the Big Top shows. These rooms now serve as silent reminders of past glories and undoubtedly an occasional bit of frenzy. While the frenzy is noticeably absent today at the Circus World Museum, and mannequins populate the sideshows, animal cages and clown quarters, many of the photographers proved themselves deft in bringing the plastic performers to life. Julie Nielsen’s Tattoo documents the legs of a sideshow mannequin bearing images of snakes, birds, and George Washington, which visually seem to transform from plastic into flesh. The work of Jessie Eisner-Kleyle also suggests her interest in presenting both the reality behind the mask of the circus and the subterfuge itself. In her piece Horse Lady, a painted wooden cutout of a horse acrobat created for tourists’ souvenir photos seems to wait anxiously for the next face.  In Tom Jones’ image Gargantua, the most famous gorilla in circus history curiously peers out from between the bars of his cage, and the calm cool color palette belies the stressful and tragic life behind this popular attraction.

No circus is complete without a clown and the many incarnations of Doodles became a favorite subject. At the Kid’s World Circus children can watch the magical transformation of man into clown. Allison Olson captures this moment and hearkens back to surrealism in her photograph Bob, wherein the mirror masks the face of Doodles as he applies his makeup. A hat on a nearby wig stand and a bumper sticker on his traveling trunk are the only things that give any indication as to what will be unveiled when the mirror drops. In Stacey LeClair’s Circus Park, she not only documents Doodles in full makeup, but also observes the coincidental similarity of both the pose and attire of the clown and a museum visitor. They are casual and relaxed in their shared space of park benches and trees, while the quaint beauty of the scene along the Baraboo River is contradicted by the oddities of the sitters.

The Circus World Museum archives house 10,000 posters and 1,000 large ad sheets amidst a multitude of items in numerous other categories, such as films, music, Wild West memorabilia, 50,000 photographic prints and negatives, and thousands of slides. Brianna Kilgore focused on the discriminatory practices in circus history, revealing the stark contrast between the lighthearted fun of the American circus and the horrifying way in which circus broadsides racially stereotyped and depicted “Negroes” in the 20th century. In her photograph Minstrels I, the audience indifferently observes while a frantic minstrel, with eyes bulging, runs away from a white-faced jester who wields an oversized straight razor.

Included in these archives is the world’s largest collection of circus wagons. In the Restoration Center, a blue and gold fragment of a wagon was spotlighted in Libbie Allen’s Ringling Queen, which single-handedly represents the opulence of the circus wagons. The aged, cracked wood cannot disguise the beauty that once was. In this photograph, the grandeur of past circuses and the excitement they brought to the towns they visited is palpable.
           
These days at the Circus World Museum, you will experience the Circus’ influence on American entertainment and culture, which attracted large audiences to the thrill and danger of the “Greatest Show on Earth”. On a fine day when the visitors are numerous on both banks of the little river running through picturesque Baraboo, something is definitely vibrating. Here on this historic site, you'll almost certainly feel the indomitable pulse of the circus, as large as life and always twice as fascinating.