Peer Response 4

· provide a substantive response to your classmates by adding and expanding upon the connection between art, individuals, and societies.

PEERS RESPONSE:

The painting I chose is called American Gothic by Grant wood American artist

(1891-1942) completed in (1930) which is an oil on beaver wood painting. This painting was created by the artist in an effort to show celebration and inspiration. I was a little puzzled by that, because at first glance I saw an elderly male farmer holding a pitchfork with a stern look on his face, as though his life was very hard on the farm, and a young female with what looks like a frown, I took it as she was not very happy with the life as a farmer’s wife. I came to realize that the artist was trying to show the farmers in rural America as what he would refer to as survivors. Grant was trying to show that although at that particular time in the country when things were not great financially, he wanted to create an image of a couple in front of their country home, to show that they made it through hardships, and they can still basically stand. Grant used a lot of brightness, like the farmhouse is white, and looks attractive to me showing warmth and being humble, there were some lightness on the clothing along with dark colors, but I believe that it only reflects the color of the clothing that the farmers may have used during that time. The background is so bright and welcoming to look at.

Reference:

American Gothic | The Art Institute of Chicago (artic.edu)