John Jefferson
A winner at the Kentucky State Fair miniature contest nearly lost his title after fair officials found out one of his entries was based on a porn set.
Preston Poling, also known as The Bearded Miniaturist, won the white ribbon last week for his “simple design”, but by Tuesday evening was getting messages from friends telling him his piece had been removed from the fair’s exhibition.
“It was such a fun piece to make,” Poling said excitedly in a video posted to Instagram, with him standing in front of his miniature set.
However, in the caption he revealed the build was gone just 12 hours after filming the video, claiming state fair officials had deemed it “inappropriate.”
“Ironically,” reads the text in the video, “the little crybabies’ attempt at censorship made this build EVEN MORE FAMOUS!!”
Poling, known by his handle @the_bearded_miniaturist, said the piece gathered a lot of attention on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
The piece is a miniature replica of the high-profile porn set, “The Casting Couch” – complete with gray carpet, brown leather sofa and a desk with a monitor sat on it showing camera footage aimed at the couch.
It was one of four pieces Poling submitted for the contest, with his miniature scene based on a set from award-winning The Walking Dead getting him the best in show title, and another much more family-friendly one based on the children’s book Goodnight Moon winning a craftsmanship award.
Poling, according to LPM News, claimed state fair officials considered disqualifying him completely and removing his other entries from the competition as well.
However, thankfully, the state fair has allowed him to keep his winning ribbons and the reing miniatures on display at the fair.
“It was more of a tongue-in-cheek, kind of humorous, if you get it, you get it kind of thing,” he said per LPM News reporting.
“It gets people talking,” he added. “That’s what art is supposed to do.”
On Facebook Live, Poling revealed he plans to display “The Casting Couch” in his Mellwood Arts Center studio once the fair is over.
One of the artists on the Canadian competition TV show Best in Miniature, LPM News also revealed Poling has been building miniatures since 2020.
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