Shaina Karryl B.

Catayna Contemporary Arts

12 STEM-Fe Del Mundo 11/26/19

Artist: Grant Wood Title: American Gothic

1. DESCRIBE
What are the things you see in this
artwork? Explain everything you see
about this artwork, even if you don’t
what it is.
2. ANALYZE
How are the elements of art used in
this artwork?
The artist used oil paints on beaver wood that measures 29.25 inches by 24.5
inches, which is equivalent to 74.3 cm by 62.4 cm. The main figures of this
painting are two people standing. There is a woman, maybe a maiden, on the left
side in the viewer’s perspective, while there is an old man on the right side. In my
perspective, the man is a farmer because he is holding a pitchfork and he is aged
because of his bald head, wrinkles, and spectacles. They’re staring at separate
angles because the man is looking directly towards or in front of him while the
woman is looking far from her right side. There is an old white house on the
background and it is surrounded at the far back with many trees. There is also a
little portion of a red house painted on the leftmost part. I predict that they are
in a rural area. They are standing right beside each other and there’s a house at
the back, maybe they’re the ones who live there. But, as I said, the man looks
older, there’s a possibility that the woman is his daughter, but in some cases, she
is his wife. The subjects’ wardrobe is very vintage and plain. Regarding their facial
look, the man shows a blank expression or not portraying strong emotion, while
the woman has a little wrinkled forehead but they both show seriousness. For
their physical attributes, they both have a light skin-complexion but they also
have differences. The woman is average in body fatness, has down-turned eyes,
oblong-shaped head, a long neck, thin lips, and blonde hair. On the other hand,
the man is slightly skinny, has round eyes, also an oblong-shaped head, short
neck, thin lips, clean-shaved face, and a bald head.
The technical elements used or shown in the painting resembled to relay the
message. The schemes of color used are exactly realistic with the portrayed real-
life setting. The artist didn’t miss the correct shadowing for the placement of the
sunlight. The type of wardrobe that the subjects have shows formality especially
with the dark colors used. Also, the clothing predominates in the foreground
color. The amounts of pale blue sky and white cloud on each side of the painting
are similar, thus, having calm and fair weather. The sharpness and pointiness of
the shapes are less, they’re smoothly and softly painted. The lines and forms are
visually present that it is well planned for it is imprinted with vertical and
horizontal lines. The shape of the subjects, the accessories, the trees, the house
is precise which made it symmetrically balanced. The appropriateness of the
shape of the trees is not realistic as it seems because they are too round from an
ideal one. The folds on their skin make realism more emphasized. The absorbed
and reflected light that defines the object’s material is finely done, I observed it
on the sharpness of the pitchfork. Most of the objects in the painting touch each
other. The artist maximizes the use of space- the pitchfork and the man itself is
in the foreground, they are both in front of the house so they’re in the middle
ground, and the background includes the house, trees, and the sky.
 3. INTERPRET
What is going on in this artwork?
What is the purpose of this work of
art?
4. DECIDE
Do you like this piece of art? WHY or
WHY NOT? What is the best thing
about this artwork? What is the worst
thing about this piece?
The resemblance of the objects in the painting made a stereotypical image of
what rural folks look-like. It is the artist’s judgment on the people of Middle
America in their time, the 1930s which the artwork was painted. The gothic
architecture of the house was used because it is for the typical family in their era.
In terms of composition, the tightly cropped painting indicates the
claustrophobic and restrictive nature of life in small-town American society. The
blankness of the models’ expressions presents their feelings about their lives and
environment. It impacts the viewer that the art itself is sad and pessimistic. The
artist made it as an affirmative statement about traditional American values. The
two people, living in their sturdy well-crafted wooden house, armed with their
down-to-earth qualities of resilience, fortitude, and pride, represent those who
are most likely to overcome the hardship of the 1930s. These values are implied
throughout the artwork. The pitchfork represents manual labor by the man,
while the prints on the apron of the lady symbolize the trend during the 19th
century in America. The calm and joyless reflection of the two people’s lives is
suggested by their expressions. This is because of the serious hardships faced by
rural farmers or dwellers in the 1930’s society.
The overall perspective of mine on Grant Woods’ American Gothic is rated 9/10.
This piece of art fits into the way how I greatly appreciate work. I’d like how the
artist only used one situation with minimal objects to convey a general message
and widen representation of the life of rural people in the past. He made it
realistic by broadening the elements that thoroughly emphasized the ambiance,
mood, and feeling of each subject. The best thing about it was the full image of
American gothic culture and where they’re stereotypically known. I think the
worst thing with the painting is that when I stare at it for a long time, it gets
creepy and scary because the man is directly staring at me as if it wants to hunt
me down with his pitchfork. With all seriousness, some may say that it is bad for
the artist to judge the people living in the rural areas, for me, that’s just the way
it is for he wants to make his point and message be conveyed.
Artist: Joel Chavez
1. DESCRIBE
What are the things you see in this
artwork? Explain everything you see
about this artwork, even if you don’t
what it is.
2. ANALYZE
How are the elements of art used in
this artwork?
3. INTERPRET
What is going on in this artwork?
What is the purpose of this work of
art?
4. DECIDE
Do you like this piece of art? WHY or
WHY NOT? What is the best thing
about this artwork? What is the worst
thing about this piece?
Title: American Gothic
The artist used oil paints on a canvas to his own version of the “American Gothic”
of Grant Wood. There figures of the painting don’t differ much from the original.
The only additional are the tattoos on the foreheads of the models. The man
already has a large arrow pointing downward from the top of his head down to
his forehead. While the maiden has a diamond on her forehead. As I can observe,
the patterns on the window curtain was gone and the plants on the house’s porch
was removed also. Their physical attributes are still the same but younger
because the wrinkles were lessened on both.
Regarding the elements of art present, the colors really thus changed a lot. It
became darker and monochromatic. There are more shadows but the
perspective of sunlight is still the same. The brightness of the whole painting was
reduced significantly. Because of the dark scheme, the details from the woman’s
dress can’t be seen while in the old man’s clothing, it was emphasized just in the
inner shirt but the coat was just plain black without folds. Their clothing
predominates lesser in the foreground than in the original painting because it
blends with the color of the house. The sky isn’t pale blue anymore, it is also dark
which makes the ambiance sad and lonely. The pointiness of the edges of the
shapes decreases also making it less realistic. The symmetry between and of the
objects is still balanced. The shapes are still the same for its form. Because of the
number of shadows, the outlines thickened which made the two people skinnier
than on the original. The monochromatic technique used greatly affects the
painting’s details and realistic state. The reflected light is mostly seen on the
subjects’ skin especially on the lifted parts of their face. The element of space is
still present but the ability to distinguish them from one another is difficult, again,
because of the dark colors.
The overall message of the painting is still the same, there are just add-ons that
the artist made. The diamond and the arrow on the foreheads of the two people
have symbolism and meaning. The artist puts a diamond tattoo on the woman’s
forehead to portray the beauty within. Diamonds represent faithfulness, love,
purity, innocence, and relationships filled with love. It is a symbol of the richness
of the self. It is especially esteemed owing to its beauty, purity, and ability to
reflect light in a special manner. While the man has an arrow pointing down, it
meant for having peace. Chavez made a detailed manifestation of the values and
perspective for the rural folks who face circumstances in their daily life.
My rating for this version of the American Gothic is 9/10 also because I like his
method of choosing dark colors to have a unique filter of the original. Since he
modified the painting especially on the diamond and arrow symbolism, I am
greatly satisfied that the message was more elaborated. I like that it somehow
shows modern painting attributes because I kind of relate the figures to 3D
animation, that’s the best part of it. The worst thing is the same as from the
original, from the dark aura, it’s just like a horror movie poster.