American Gothic

American Gothic
Pick a painting or piece of material art, describe it and describe its connection to money. Description of the object’s form, composition, color, texture, scale, proportions, balance, contrast, and rhythm, history of the object’s creation, and connection to its concerns about money.

American painter, Grant Wood painted, American Gothic in 1930 as the United States was entering the Great Depression. The severe expressions on the faces of the older man and the younger woman seem to capture the essence of the austere, hard-working middle class America. This image is a very famous image and if often parodied around the world.
Newspapers across the country carried the story of the painting of a farm couple who was poised before a white house. Wood an Iowa native, was enchanted by a cottage he had seen in a small town in his late 30’s. The Gothic Revival style is indicated by the upper window designed to resemble a medieval pointed arch. The characters in the painting were Wood’s dentist and his sister Nan, who he asked to pose as a farmer and his unmarried daughter. The highly detailed style and rigid frontal arrangements of the figures were inspired by Northern Renaissance art, which the artist studied during three trips to Europe. After returning to Iowa, he became increasingly appreciative of the traditions of the Midwest, which he often celebrated in works such as this.
American Gothic is one of the most famous paintings in the history of American Art. This painting is a primary example of Regionalism, a movement that aggressively opposed European Abstract art, preferring depictions of rural American subjects rendered in a representational style. Some believe that Wood used this painting to show the narrow-mindedness and repression that has been said to characterize Midwestern culture, an accusation he denied. The painting may also be read as a glorification of the moral virtue of rural America or even as an ambiguous mixture of praise and satire.
The size of the painting is 74.3 cm × 62.4 cm (29¼ in × 24½ in) and Wood has used oil on beaverboard. Today, American Gothic hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago, and has received both criticism and rave reviews.
Although the painting appears to be very realistic, it is important to understand Wood’s use of reality throughout the image. Perhaps more interesting than the influence of the house, and the window, the hayfork and the plants as well as the patterns and facial expressions, is the influence of money. The expressions, described as sour, seem at first to contradict Wood’s claim that he was painting an affectionate portrait. The man and women in the painting seem to be no nonsense characters. They seem as though they are plagued with something more pressing than day-to-day life. Money seemingly plays an underlying role in their distress. Because we know, the painting was painted as America was entering the Great Depression, we can assume that the reason for their doleful expressions has to do with a lack of money. The distress of knowing their lives were in danger, both health wise and income wise is taking a toll on them. Their clothing while clean does not look very high class. They imply that they are hard workers and they imply a need for efficiency. The use of the hayfork held by the male figure perhaps shows the dire need for work.
The hayfork also speculates something sinister, like a devil’s pitchfork, perhaps alluding to the evil nature of money, and the desire for money. The Great Depression was a difficult time for many Americans, and life became difficult to live. It is interesting to note that the image of the hayfork was recreated on the male figures overalls. This shows a sort of repetitive pattern that reinforces the desire for money and the fear for not having enough money. Perhaps their facial expressions show that fear as well. Their faces were unsmiling; they had frown lines all over their face. The human emotions depicted in the picture show a sense of severity. The woman’s hair is pulled back very tightly, even though there is a single strand hanging behind her ear. Money can be understood as being an important factor both as an indicator of what problems they may have been facing, and what problems will be coming their way as the Depression worsens. There is somewhat of an air of doom that appears to be affecting them. It seems without a doubt that all of their problems have to do with money. Perhaps even the fact that the woman in the painting seems older than normal, has to do with an inability to find potential suitors, especially in a tough economy, where they are trying to find someone who can support her.
Money most probably plays an enormous role in the artist’s painting, and acts as an indicator of the pain and grief not having money has on society as a whole. There is hidden meaning in their facial expressions and the atmosphere also implies that everything is in a desolate, or empty state. This implies that the connection that money has to our everyday lives is very intricate. Our entire well being depends on how much money we have, and how we can sustain ourselves with money. Perhaps there is more to what the male and female figures are thinking, and money is an all-consuming aspect of their lives.