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Bill Cosby portrait made of ‘rapeseed’ removed from Minnesota State Fair

A Minnesota artist’s portrait of Bill Cosby made from canola seeds — also known as “rapeseeds” — has been removed from the Minnesota State Fair after a day of display and fairgoers' complaints.

A Minnesota artist's portrait of Bill Cosby made from canola seeds — a descendent bred from "rapeseed" — has been removed from the Minnesota State Fair after a day of display and fairgoers' complaints.

Formerly on display as part of a crop art exhibition, artist Nick Rindo's portrait of Cosby featured the embattled comedian's visage re-created in painted rapeseed, the name from which the industry moved away in the 1980s to avoid associating the crop with the word "rape." "Canola," in fact, is a combination of "Canada" and "ola," or "oil, low acid."

"I thought, 'God, I should do a Bill Cosby,' " Rindo told HuffPo Wednesday. "Then I realized the wordplay thing."

Rindo's 12-by-12-inch Cosby portrait went on display at the Minnesota State Fair last week, though the "rapeseed" portion of its description was reportedly covered over by staffer Ron Kelsey shortly thereafter, noting that folks in the U.S. don't typically use that term to describe canola seeds. For his part, Rindo says he understands the decision there.

"I don't want the art censorship comments to come down too hard on him," Rindo told HuffPo. "He's a nice guy who geeks out about crops."

Kelsey reportedly pulled the portrait down at the tail end of last week, though he couldn't recall which day exactly.

Rindo has since lost track of his Cosby portrait, though he says he believes it will be returned to him at the fair's conclusion on Sept. 7.

[HuffPo | TwinCities]