Skip to main content

American Gothic

 Believe it or not there are two artworks called American Gothic. While on is a painting by Grant Wood, the other is a photograph by Gordon Parks . They both have different meanings as well. I would to cover both these artworks on this post. So, this is a two for one post today. 

I do not know when I was the very first time I saw this painting. To me, I first thought it was just rural scene with a farmer and his wife. More details about this painting came to me as I got older. It turned out the models were the artist's sister, Nan Wood Graham and the artist's dentist, Dr. Byron McKeeby. This artwork has been often parodied over the years.

                                                                        Artwork Facts
Artist: Grant Wood
Title: American Gothic
Year: 1930
Media: Oil on beaverboard
Dimensions: 30 3/4" x 25 3/4"
Movement: Modernism, Regionalism

Gordon Parks' American Gothic told a whole different story. It told a story of the American, black worker. The posing woman's name was Ella Watson. She was a mother and cleaner whom Parks met in Washington DC. He actually interviewed Watson and learned he was working to support her grandchildren after her husband died.

Artwork Facts
Artist: Gordon Parks
Year: 1942
Dimensions: 12 3/8 x 8 3\4



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nighthawks

 I remember seeing this painting from either from an art appreciation class or  community college from my an American Art and Architecture. Either way, this artwork stood out to me. The painting depicts late nightlife in 1940s Chicago. From the outside, the streets look deserted in spite of four people in a diner. It also depicts how empty and lonely urban city life can be.Even the couple don't look like they are together. It reminds me of the phrase, "together all alone." Artwork Facts Artist: Edward Hooper Year:  1942 Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 33.1 in x 60.0 in Movement: American Realism
Post a Comment
Read more

Kwame Braithwiate

 First of all, I would like to wish you all a Happy Black History Month! Today I would like to discuss an African American photographer/activist name Kwame Brathwaite. He is known for coining the phrase, "Black is Beautiful" in the 1960s. Brathwaite's works documents African American life. I'm going to discuss a photography book called Kwame Brathwaite: Black Is Beautiful . (You see two of the same images because of a technical difficulties. I'll try to fix it) I remember coming across this book a few years at a museum gift shop. The Mobile Museum of Art had an exhibition called Posing Beauty in African American Culture . It was also held during Black History Month of 2019. The exhibit included images of African Americans from the time photography was invented to the present day of that time. This contains photographs of black women for were their Natural hair before and during the Black Power Movement. You got to this book a part of your collection. Update: I jus
Post a Comment
Read more

The Potato Eaters

 I'm back! Today, I am going to The Potato Eaters  ( De Aardapppeleters )   by Dutch Post-Impressionist  artist Vincent Willem Van Gogh. Usually when I think about Van Gogh, I think of colorful artworks like Starry Night ( I might do a post about that painting). I was caught by surprise when I observed this artwork in university. The dark tones of this painting really depicted the harshness of rural life. The color scheme depicts the humble life that the figures lived. Especially with their dark clothes, the meal potatoes and black coffee.   Artwork Facts Title: The Potato Eaters Artist: Vincent Willem Van Gogh Year: 1885 Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 32.3 in x 44.9 in Movement: Between Realism and Expressionism
Post a Comment
Read more