American Gothic Pdf
'There is satire in it, but only as there is satire in any realistic statement. These are types of people I have known all my life. I tried to characterize them truthfully-to make them more like themselves than they were in actual life.' Grant Wood on American Gothic as a satire Critical Response to Wood's American Gothic PaintingArtist Grant Wood might have thought his satire of small town Midwestern America was funny and right on target, but many art critics initially found his painting American Gothic to be mean spirited and insulting toward the simple, a low blow toward the hardworking men and women of the Midwest living through the tough economic times during the Great Depression. American Gothic Meaning: A Critique of Midwestern CultureMany interpreted the meaning of American Gothic to be the artist's snobby judgment on the humble people of Middle America. Like other Regionalist artists and writers, however, Grant Wood seems to critique the oppressive confines of Midwestern culture in American Gothic more than the people themselves. In terms of composition, the tightly cropped painting indicates the claustrophobic and restrictive nature of life in small town American society.
American Gothic Free View
One look at the grim and humorless expressions on the models' faces suggests their true feelings about their lives and environment. The ceilings in their American Gothic home might be vaulted, but the lifestyle and culture are nothing short of stifling.