An artist created the American Gothic from America, Grant Wood, in 1930. The house in Eldon inspired the artist to carry out his painting. This implied the rural-American values that were valued in America up to date, and it further explained how culture influenced American society. Also, the artist intended to show how the American people were hardworking and devoted and that the American Gothic marked a celebration of American values, showing solidarity in its people. Notably, without a doubt, the painting captured special moments of change and transition of culture from an overwhelming state of struggle against economic, social, and drought crises and managed to know their own identity.
Social-culture context
To express cultural changes, Wood used farmers to show how they struggled to find their identity from the economic, social, and drought crises that attacked them in the earlier 1930s. Wood, a member of the regionalist movement in American art, saw the need for the rural values of their culture against the Europeans who intended to influence East Coast Modernism. This inspired Wood to craft paint of a house he saw in Iowa city while he was traveling, and in Infront of the house, he used his sister Nan and his dentist McKeeby pictures. They acted as a couple, and the man was said to be a farmer. Also, the house captured from Lowa city was used to show cultural value and how culture changes from one generation to the next. Therefore, the painting accurately depicts cultural values in America against European modernization, which could barely mislead American society. However, the painting shows that the American people loved and respected their community since they fought and survived the drought crisis through their farming capabilities as they were hardworking peasants.
Analysis
The portrait made by Wood was a clear sign of valuing American culture and being against the European modernization critic. According to Kharkurin, artworks can be well represented by applying the four-criterion construct of creativity. Novelty is the most crucial aspect which portrays truth and depicts the essence and intention of Wood towards the American culture, as well as showing how Wood was a strong and prominent member of the regionalist movement in America. Looking at the artwork done by Wood, there are three characters in the picture (Goddu, 2007). One is the house he saw in Lowa city while traveling. The house is a sign of the ancient culture and lifestyle in the olden days in America. It showed how the American people still appreciate their culture. The house was an inspiration to Wood, and he decided to carry out the painting of the house to represent culture in American society.
On the other hand, Wood’s sister Nan was wearing a colonial print apron representing the 19th century Americana to show what the life of the Ancient American life and mode of living exactly looked like. The reason for this dress code showed the imagination of what the people who lived in that house looked like. Also, the picture’s color showed the ancient time picture by making it look exactly like America during the 19th century. According to Khakurin, the utility shows that artwork should portray the given time’s social, political, and political environment. For instance, the American Gothic house demonstrates American society in the 19th century and how they survived drought and economic and social crises and managed to know their identity. Since generation change with time, people become less informed of the past, and others grow entirely without knowing what happened in the past. Therefore, Wood’s painting is an excellent cultural remedy to all the coming generations where hay gets to know what happened in ancient days, and this helps them to respect and value their culture in all matters and also get more information on how they arrived to their generation (Shevlin, 2021). In addition, Wood’s painting, being of good intentions, will inspire all the coming generations to ensure that they keep their history life by keeping records as well as artworks as it serves as references in the future. Notably, the painting is still valued in American society and has maintained its purpose of making all generations know about their culture.
According to Khartoum, aesthetics states that artwork should exactly reflect the truth. Looking at Wood’s work shows the fact that American culture remedies truthfully. For instance, Americans fought the crisis of drought, and they managed to know their identity, and it was through their hard work (Halvorson & Reno, 2020). This is evidence that the artwork done by Wood is actual since McKeeby is sad to be a farmer. Even looking at the hammer in his hands shows a hardworking farmer. Second, the dress code of Nan and Mckeeby signifies how the American people in the 19th century used to dress respectfully (Parrish, 2022). This also shows that the artwork is a truthful way of impressing culture. Lastly, the color used in the painting shows the correct time the picture was supposed to be taken, which is a truthful way of representing culture in society.
The sense of alienation is the main reason why Wood’s painting is considered a strong representation of rural-American culture. The painting shows love for culture anyone could wish to represent for history remedies. Based on the house, it shows that authenticity exactly defines the ability to express one’s cultural appreciation in their society, just the way Wood captured a house from Lowa city to represent his cultural values.
In conclusion, American Gothic is not limited to its novelty. However, it is solid regarding aesthetics, utility, and authenticity. Wood exposes one of the most significant historical wars the Americans did: maintaining their cultural values against the East Coast Europeans who wanted to bring their modern life. This shows that Wood was a faithful member of the regional movement in arts, and he valued the culture of his society. In addition, since the painting was truthful, it still existed in history and was used as a remedy for old American life in the 19th century.
References
Goddu, T. A. (2007). American Gothic. In The Routledge companion to gothic (pp. 77-86). Routledge.
Halvorson, B. E., & Reno, J. O. (2022). Imagining the Heartland: White Supremacy and the American Midwest. Univ of California Press.
Parrish, A. (2021). A Performer’s Guide to Barbara York’s Four Paintings by Grant Wood.
Shevlin, H. (2021). Rethinking creative intelligence: comparative psychology and the concept of creativity. European Journal for Philosophy of Science, 11(1), 1–21.
write