The A-maize-ing Life of a Corn Maze Designer

November 5, 2023 3:24 PM

I had to know more about how this rustic wonder was created, so I reached out to Logan Bench, CTO of the MAiZE, a firm out of Utah ... that designs sophisticated custom mazes for over 300 farmer clients across the U.S. and Canada. We talked about the art and science of maze creation, the future of the “agritainment” industry, Bench’s personal design Holy Grail, and just how a blank, tasseled canvas of corn makes him feel. (Slate - archive)
posted by ShooBoo (16 comments total)

This reminds me of the very funny, very on point novel Larry's Party by Carol Sheilds.
posted by PinkMoose at 3:49 PM on November 5, 2023

Such a neat story. Thanks for sharing.
posted by ellerhodes at 4:18 PM on November 5, 2023

I immediately thought of Larry's Party too.
posted by blue shadows at 4:24 PM on November 5, 2023

Isn’t all corn maize in the US?
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:27 PM on November 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

I am sincerely delighted to have read this article about a thing I have never before cared about in the slightest.

Also, I love Reba and I think the fact that she has many corn mazes in her honour as part of a deliberate PR campaign is on brand and perfect but also surprising.

This is my favourite kind of Metafilter.
posted by jacquilynne at 4:37 PM on November 5, 2023 [3 favorites]

I love this, especially hearing about how this is done. (My favorite kind of Metafilter too). I went back to corn mazing this season and it's a lot more fun if I'm not in charge of figuring out the maze.

I did laugh when I read the story about the largest QR code and then they can't get it to scan...I swear, half the time I can't scan these "super easy" damn things. I've also wondered every time someone like, knits or cross stitches a QR code somewhere (I've seen a few online), if that shit works.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:46 PM on November 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

One question I'm surprised wasn't asked: do people (either the farm or the maze-goers) get anything out of the maze being some kind of recognizable design? I mean, it's not like you're looking at the maze from above, right? Is it purely for the marketing (walk through a maze shaped like Reba McEntire's face that you'll never actually see!)? And does it actually work on anyone?
posted by chrominance at 5:49 PM on November 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

(well okay I can see why they wouldn't ask that last question, that's a bit too harsh, but you get my meaning)
posted by chrominance at 5:49 PM on November 5, 2023

I presume from my previous corn maze experience that at least you get a printed map of the maze to work off, so you'd see Reba on that. But yes, otherwise it's just aerial promo pics.

I note that many yonks ago when I was a reporter writing about the corn maze (we have a big one in the county), I got to go up in a tiny plane, flown SIDEWAYS, so the photographer could shoot it.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:54 PM on November 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

A college friend of mine was doing exactly this kind of maze design work in the late 90s and early aughts, alongside also being a stage combat choreographer. It was such an unusual combination that one of the reporters sent to cover the "amazing maize maze" story ended up doing a second story just about him, titled something like "the man with the two quirkiest jobs you've never heard of " or something like that. They had him pose for a picture standing in the middle of the maze with an ear of corn in one hand and a broadsword in the other.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:01 PM on November 5, 2023 [4 favorites]

OMG I would have loved to have written that story. That was up my alley when I was a feature reporter, for sure.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:41 PM on November 5, 2023

Content warning: Contains cornography
posted by New Frontier at 9:53 PM on November 5, 2023 [2 favorites]

Isn’t all corn maize in the US?

We call it maize. [CW: 1970s view of a "Native American"]
posted by chavenet at 12:54 AM on November 6, 2023

This was a really fun interview, both personable and informative. I will admit, though, that if I’m driving in the middle of nowhere and I see a bunch of random cornfields, that I may get a little anxiety. I’m like: “Oh no, that’s so much work."

I used to live in the Midwest, and every year a friend of mine would come to town on a weekend and we would go out to a corn maze or two. So perfectly autumnal!

I do think that even though the shapes are mainly for being seen from the air and on a map, they also have a useful/entertaining function, which is to orient yourself while you're mazing around. "Okay, looks like we're about to reach the crow's nest of the pirate ship", or "we're in Reba's left eye" or whatever. The pirate ship was my favorite, back in the day--certain important parts of the ship (the crow's nest, the ship's flag, etc.) had rubber stamp stations in them, for you to stamp onto your map. Nice little incremental rewards, and also kept us informed about where the heck we were.
posted by theatro at 5:21 AM on November 6, 2023

We once went to a maze where because of bridges, there was an inner segment and an outer segment with very few connections between the two. Once you reached the inner segment, almost every single path wound back to a central open courtyard where there was a snack bar and bathrooms. It was infuriatingly clever.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 7:43 AM on November 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

Love a maze with bridges! Bridges are extra-devious, because that's what wrecks the old "Left Hand on the Wall" maze-solving strategy. (For mazes where the goal is to exit by a different path than you entered, anyway. Mazes where you're trying to get to the middle and back out again can do it more simply, with paths that loop).
posted by rifflesby at 4:10 PM on November 6, 2023