Today was a big day for ol' Jane, I saw the American Gothic house that resides in my new town, Eldon.
Eldon, Iowa is a small town. It's quaint and a little delapidated...but not too bad overall. There are brown road signs through out the town that lead you all the way to the house that Grant Wood painted all those years ago.
Seeing as "American Gothic" could concievably be the most recognizable American painting in the world I thought it would be larger then life. Huge, well-lit, and just incredible. I don't know why I thought this...but I did.
We pulled into the parking lot and far off in the distance I saw a little white house with people posing in overalls in the front yard. Was this humble home really it? And it was.
I would liken seeing the American Gothic House to seeing the Mona Lisa for the first time.
"Isn't it supposed to be bigger?"
I wasn't dissappointed by the experience, I was enthralled by it. Seeing that window at the top of the house and recognizing it from Wood's painting was great. But I suppose that the beauty of the midwest is found in its simple, corn covered landscape...and Grant was able to capture that simple, down home, charactoristic in his painting.
wow! sounds cool!
ReplyDeleteits interesting, "american gothic" being, as you say, one of the most interesting paintings in americana, but if i sat down to paint or draw or create something with pictures - what have you - painting a pair of farmers in front of their house wouldn't seem... interesting.
ReplyDeletei don't know. in no way am i knocking the experience, and i completely agknowledge what the painting represents in said americana... but damn, i'm so missing something.
I just took a history of American art class and what I find so interesting about american art is that it wasn't run by a european academy. Its totally unique, adventerous, and at times terrible...(see George Caitlin).
ReplyDeleteIt was cool, though.