I visited the Temple of Fans (yeah, you read that right) and here’s what I learned
An odyssey through the ritualistic religious nature of humans
During Spring Break, on our way back up to Michigan from Kentucky, we stopped in Zionsville, Indiana. There is a temple there. A temple that emblazes the name “Fanimation.” We came to this place because our three-year-old is unusually interested in fans. Yes, like the ordinary fans found in most homes around the country. He loves them for a reason I do not know. So, to break up the drive back home to Michigan, we stopped at this fan museum we had found online. There was no entry fee, which seemed perfectly within our vacation budget.
When you walk through the front doors into this hall of gleaming fans, the first thing that hits you is, “Wow, is this real?” and then, “Wow, that’s a lot of antique fans.” Almost every available space was taken by an antique fan of some type. The other side of this large complex is the actual business, an existing fan company. The staff (or perhaps we could call them the fan-priesthood) then lets us know the greatness and magnitude of the space we have graced our presence upon.
We are standing on holy ground in the fan collector world. The staff is not only the keepers of knowledge about all things fans, but they spend their days cleaning and maintaining the brass fans throughout this museum. This is their sole occupation for which they are paid. They are a kind of priesthood, the keepers of the fans and the promotion of fan culture. They continue to grow their fan community across the U.S. and hope to expand their collection by another 700–800 fans in the next few years.
Throughout the upstairs and downstairs, you will notice fans from the 1890s that look as if they were brand new with their golden polished brass blades. They give off a glimmering metallic luster wherever you turn. There is also advertisement memorabilia from different decades throughout the 20th century as you scan the rooms’ outer walls. They depict a telos of the power and accomplishment of what a fan can do for your life. The people on the large posters look relieved, joyful, and eased as they bask in the Edenic wind of the fans the advertisers of old were trying to sell.
After seeing both floors of the museum, the sage of the fan priesthood invited us to the workshop through the double doors toward the back of the first floor. This is the room where their most treasured fan projects are kept and worked on. The excitement in his voice about this part of the building let us know we were invited to someplace sacred. The room is filled with a myriad of tools, motors, wires, and gadgets. The most exotic of their fan creations exist in this space. The sage of fans enthusiastically asks us to look upon the vast wall they have built to see their latest creation. About 30 feet up is a series of fans interconnected by belt-driven motors laid out in a zig-zag pattern across the immense wall.
You can tell this display is their crowning achievement. Their giddiness gives it away immediately as they flip the switch to give the fans life! This is what gets them excited to go to work every day. Not only to share the good news of fans to the visitors who stop in but also to create and grow a community around fans through their annual fan gatherings. They draw fan enthusiasts in through the announcement of their newest projects. They can’t wait to impress the fan community with this latest achievement.
We see a man walk in as we gaze at their most exotic fan creations in the workshop. He is wearing a nice suit and looks like he must be someone important. The workers adjust their conduct as if our space has changed, and an air of reverence fills the room. The sage steps in as an intermediary between my family and this man standing before us. The fan sage introduces us to this man in the suit. He introduces him, saying, “This is Mr. Frampton. He is the CEO of Fanimation. You’re looking at the fan god!” The sage then explains this man’s history, from his accomplishments in fan design in Highschool to his business achievements of today. He was a fan genius to them, a prodigy.
When visiting time ends, we head from the inner chamber to the outer chamber with the fan displays and then out through the narthex. We are given a gift bag full of items (icons) to take back with us, like three kinds of small portable fans, magazines of the latest fans they sell, and their fan collectors magazine that shows pictures of their events throughout the year. We are lastly encouraged and invited to come back for their biggest yearly festival where fan pilgrims from all around the country make a pilgrimage to visit and share community. It’s the highlight of the fan world’s year.
As I reflect on the experience, Smith was constantly coming to my mind as I dissected the space I was inhabiting and listened intently to the words being spoken. The stories, mythologies, images, and icons were all around me. They were reinforcing a telos that championed fans as an incredible achievement of design and beauty. They are something to admire, and the highlight of their telos is that it gives community and a sense of brotherhood through the love of fans.
Fans brought people together. The community was clearly their biggest joy to experience every year. This is what they looked forward to the most. The fans are the conduit through which they can acquire community and know and be known by others who would appreciate them. The power of fans gave them a feeling of life, meaning, and purpose.
I created this blog to exercise the ideas that have haunted my mind. This blog will discuss and contemplate story, imagination, formation, Christian education, icons, symbols, pictures, and poetry. Journey with me as we delve into the deep cavernous thoughts of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, George MacDonald, Malcolm Guite, James K.A. Smith, N.T. Wright, Charles Taylor, and The Holy Scriptures. If you are interested in or hate this content, join the conversation, as I will blog about these subjects and authors every Sunday morning.
