The artifacts…

Terrance Griep is a Minnesota writer and wrestler who makes frequent trips to Duluth (see stories on PDD here and here). He’s subject of an art exhibit at the MSP airport; visit when you catch a connecting flight.

Press release, edited, below.

Professional wrestler Tommy “The SpiderBaby” Saturday announced his contribution to “The History of Minnesota Sports” collection presented by the Art@MSP program at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport […]  The SpiderBaby recast Minnesota sports when he became the first openly wrestler to ply his trade within the United States, as reported by OUT Magazine. 

To most culture-lovers the connection between wrestling matches and museum exhibits might seem an unlikely one, but to a warrior/activist obsessed with appearances, the connection is obvious. “One uses arm drags while the other uses artifacts, but the two media perform precisely the same function,” The SpiderBaby insists. “They’re both vehicles for storytelling.”

“The History of Minnesota Sports” will be on display for the edification of world travelers from now until November 2018, but Saturday is most interested in who might admire his display in the next few weeks. “At least one National Football League team will be coming through MSP in order to contest Super Bowl LII,” The SpiderBaby foresees. “I hope they’ll take a few minutes to stop by Terminal 1, Concourse C, where they can study my exhibit. That way, they’ll see how a champion is supposed to look.”

I’ve watched Griep wrestle and he’s spoken to my Writing Studies classes at UMD many times, both about being a freelance writer and about being a creator in the Most Popular Form of American Theater.  Local Wrestling Promoter Heavy D has used his talent, too.  (Check out the next event, “No Love Lost” at Clyde in February.)

Congrats to my friend.