AMERICAN GOTHIC
Grant Wood, American Gothic (1930)
Oil on composition board, 30 inches x 25 inches. Art Institute of Chicago.
About the artist:
Grant Wood(1891, 1942), was an active American painter from an extremely young age until his death. He is best known for his paintings depicting the rurals of American mid-west. His painting "American Gothic" is said to be an iconic image for the 20th century.
About the painting:
Who are these two people and how are they related? Husband and wife? Daughter and father? or just a maid and a farmer? The interesting thing about this painting is that nobody knows the relationship between the girl and the older man. I think they should've asked the artist before he died. But this is the beautiful thing about art.
There is no boundary in art. You can imagine everything as you wish. I want these two people to be a brother and a sister. Because I feel like it.
American Gothic
Just outside the frame
there has to be a dog
chickens, cows and hay
and a smokehouse
where a ham in hickory
is also being preserved
Here for all time
the borders of the Gothic window
anticipate the ribs
of the house
the tines of the pitchfork
repeat the triumph
of his overalls
and front and center
the long faces, the sober lips
above the upright spines
of this couple
arrested in the name of art
These two
by now
the sun this high
ought to be
in mortal time
about their businesses
Instead they linger here
within the patient fabric
of the lives they wove
he asking the artist silently
how much longer
and worrying about the crops
she no less concerned about the crops
but more to the point just now
whether she remembered
to turn off the stove.
John Stone
John Stone (1936,2008), was a poet, cardiologist, and a lecturer.
Stone began his literary career in 1972 and won an award. His insightful and sensitive poetry examines the common features between literature and medicine. Stone always believed that his duty as a writer was to prepare for a "good death". |
***
Comparison between the poem and the painting
The poem and the painting both reflect the life style and order of the rurals of American mid-west in their own ways. In the poem, the poet uses the magic of words to express his thoughts and guesses about the painting and the rural life style. Whereas the painting talks without any words and tells what it aims to tell with its deep colors and brush trails. Which one is more effective? Since the human kind existed, he always desired to tell and express his feelings to somebody else without being too direct and shallow. So he developed music, art and poetry to express his feelings.
Well, both poetry and art are essential for the fundamental goal of expressing things. Without one of them, we wouldn't reach the total satisfaction of showing our emotions and telling what we want to tell to the world.
Well, both poetry and art are essential for the fundamental goal of expressing things. Without one of them, we wouldn't reach the total satisfaction of showing our emotions and telling what we want to tell to the world.
Analysis of the original painting by art experts!
A personal comment from me
This is a self-portrait of Grant Wood
***
I guess making a self-portrait must be way more challenging than drawing another person. It requires courage to mirror your face on a piece of parchment paper. I probably couldn't be able to do self-portraits if i were an artist because sometimes even looking at my photos makes me feel bad about myself. Drawing it would feel much worse!!!
***
I guess making a self-portrait must be way more challenging than drawing another person. It requires courage to mirror your face on a piece of parchment paper. I probably couldn't be able to do self-portraits if i were an artist because sometimes even looking at my photos makes me feel bad about myself. Drawing it would feel much worse!!!