ART REVIEW

American Gothic. Everyone knows the piece. Everyone can visualize the ubiquitous old man and woman standing next to each other, one holding the pitchfork, his eyes boring into our very soul, while the other simply glances to the side. A symbol of rural America people say. And it's true.

But people don't know the whole story. There's a lot more. Grant Wood was an American Regionalist from Iowa, and the man in the piece was based upon his dentist, while the woman was based upon his own sister. It won 3rd place in a contest at the Art Institute of Chicago, and was bought for $300. The piece, while many thing to be a man and his wife, it is thought to be of a man and his spinster daughter by art researchers or some people like that. I guess the overexaggerated wrinkles and lighting of the face, and the entire setting capture the feeling of a rural farmer more than a naturalistic painting would. This captures the essence. There is also a lot of artistry in it. Have you seen the repetition of the pitchfork shape in the window, and more bluntly in the man's overalls? The woman's face matches her brooch, while her apron is identical to the fabric in the curtains.

This piece has shown me that there's so much more in an art piece that we miss. We glaze over the details. These little details add up and is able to change our entire view on a piece.

There's a lot more to this piece, and all other pieces of art.
We just need to look deeper.