In class today we discussed using small but significant clues to sneak your way into a "text." Please peruse the above painting, titled "American Gothic," and respond to the following questions:
1. How would you describe the relationship between the subjects of this painting, and what clues helped you figure this out?
2. Why do you think the painting is called "American Gothic"? What image of America does this painting create? Do you agree with this image?
Remember to read the other posts to avoid repeating someone else word for word. Instead, focus on having a conversation with your classmates. Posts are due by 10 pm Sunday.
1. The relationship between the two subjects appears to be a strong relationship. In the painting, the man is standing very boldly with a pitchfork and the woman seems like she is hiding behind him for protection. This is proof that the woman trusts the man and the man will risk his life for the woman.
ReplyDelete2. The painting is called "American Gothic" because the picture strikes me with a dark feeling almost as if a gothic person does and I think this is what the artist intended to do.This image creates a rural setting of America in my mind. I somewhat agree with the image because at that time (around the 1950s) most of America was rural but there were also various cities that were urban.
1. The relationship between the two subjects seems to be a close relationship like between a husband and a wife. The woman is standing close to the man and in that time period and still today, the men are the protection and the provider. The man seems to be working hard outside on the farm while the women tends to things inside the house.
ReplyDelete2. The painting is titled "American Gothic" because the man and the woman are placed in a setting that seems to be like early to mid 1900s in America. They seem to be on a farm away from cities or towns. On the other hand, this painting is gothic because there isn't any bright colors and the subjects don't look happy. They portray a serious expression that makes them look sad and gloomy. Also, it doesn't look like the subjects have a lot going on in their life and they are in their older years. That helps reflet the "gothic" apperance.
1. I think the relationship between the two people in this painting are like the 2 comments ahead of me saying very close. I can tell this because the two are standing very close, and when your not close to someone you dont stand so close to them. You can also say this because the man is standing in front of the house and looks very stern. As though he was protecting it, and also the woman.
ReplyDelete2. id say this picture is called the "American Gothic" because when you first look at the picture your eyes capture the dark colors, and the colors that are in the painting show very mild tones that don't excite the person looking at it. It also shows a great deal with the expression on the two people's face. You see that they are not smiling and that takes a gloomy expression which reminds me of the gothic era. This is American because like Jamie said it does look like American families somewhere in the gothic era.
I think the relations ship between the two in this picture is either they are married or the man is the father of the women because he looks aged like close to 70 and she looks way younger. They could be married because people do not always marry someone close to the same age or he just looks more aged because he is a farmer and has been exposed to the sun to much therefore making him look older, same concept as if someone smokes.
ReplyDeleteBack in the early 1900s when photography was becoming more advanced, it seems as if the people did not know how to look happy. As i look at the pictures of my great grandparents and their childhood pictures they had the same expression as the two in the picture, like the light was on but no body is home. They did not look very enthusiastic or happy. The picture is called "The American Gothic" because the color of the picture is like dark. I'm meaning that not only the physical color of the picture but the mood of the people in the picture as well.
1.The relationship I found between the two people in this painting is husband and wife. The old time couple seems to be standing close and they look like they are some what far away in age because the man looks old and the woman looks like she is only 40. This painting looks like it was painted to be in the 1930s and back then men would have younger wifes.
ReplyDelete2.I believe this painting is called the "American Gothic" because it was made in the 1930s when the Great Deperesion and World War II took place. The word "gothic" means dark, curde, gloomy and mysterious. At the time America went through a hard time and the word "gothic" just expressed the way they felt. In this painting the couple does not look happy or like they are proud of the what has happend. in this sense I think this painting paints a piture of America being sad and alone. I do agree with this picture that america was a sad place to live in around the time this picture was made... but I dont agree that it was a good thing and tht America has not changed.
1. I think the relationships between these two people are that they are married. They are standing very close together and the man is standing slightly in front of her as protecting her.
ReplyDelete2. I think this painting is called "American Gothic" because there are no colors that are necessarily bright or happy. The house in the painting is also in the gothic architecture style. I think this painting gives American farming life as sort of grim, exhausting and serious because the two people in the painting don't look very excited with their life right now. I would agree with this image of America in this time period because being a farmer would be a very exhausting and grim job.
1. I think that they are married, as they appear close, but it is a respectful relationship. they are two people who have spent their lives together, and have a strong link to each other.
ReplyDelete2. It is called "American Gothic" because this is the america that nobody sees. this is the part of america that does the dirty work so that everybody else can live the american dream. they toil, they grow, they are the everymen and women.
1. I think that the relationship between the husband and wife is not very strong, because in the photo they are not interested in each other. But the women won't leave because she has no way to make a living.
ReplyDelete2. I believe that this painting is called "American Gothic" because the painting is very depressing. The back round has smoke in it showing a factory of some sort making the sky look unpleasant. The people in the photo look hopeless and have no diction in there life. and that is why i think this is called "American Gothic".
1. The relationship between the people seems to be good because it looks like the man is protecting her and their farm with his pitchfork. His wife stands closely behind him.
ReplyDelete2. This painting is called "American Gothic" because there aren't very many lively colors and this family looks like they are from the midwest on a farm and are obviously american. They seem to be trying so survive with just their farm and each other.
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ReplyDelete1. I think that the relationship between the man and the woman is very close like a marriage because they are standing very close to one another. Also, the pitchforks seems to gaurd them along with there whole property as it is in front of everything in the painting.
ReplyDelete2. The painting seems to be titled "American Gothic" because the mood that is set in to the painting is very dpressing like the faces in the man and woman or the way they are wearing only dark colors. Also, they seem to have a very simple life based on there simple little house and the fact that it appears they live in a forested area from the many trees in the background. Then, there is the pitchfork thats represents anger and hostility making the painting much darker.
1)I think the realtionship between the two people of the painting is that they are married and share a life togehter. In the painting the two are standing very close together which might be symbolizing a close relationship that they share. In the backgroud you can see their home very prominently then off to the left a red barn where their animals and tools are kept. I think the artist painted the man with a pitchfork to show that they are farmers without much guessing.
ReplyDelete2) The painting could have been named the "American Gothic" because it was painted around the 1930's when the Great Depression was taking place. The couple in the painting don't look very happy because money was probably very scarce for them. The image of America this creates is very hard working and persistant because even though making enough money was difficult the man has his work clothes on under his jacket as if as soon as the painting was done he would head off to the feilds. I do believe the image of America this painting creates is true still today because we are now in a recession, but people keep going to work and doing what they need to do instead of having the mind set that they are getting laid off and just not going to work or doing what they need to do.
1. The two subjects seem to be a simple old american couple. They look married and they are probably farmers. Just trying to make a simple living off the land. They don't look happy or excited because their life is probably routine and boring.
ReplyDelete2. I think that it is called american gothic because it is pertaining to old america. This shows america in a boring simple image. Some of america is boring and simple though especially a long time ago. I agree with this image in older times in america but now days america is nothing like this image.
1. I think the relationship between these two people is that they are married, and the husband is protective of his wife. The man holds a pitchfork, which symbolizes that he is protecting his wife. Also, the two people are standing close together, which means that they are close to each other, and love each other very much.
ReplyDelete2. I think this painting is titled "The American Gothic" because it’s portraying what America was back then. I also think that the barn and house look very old. This painting has very dark colors, and it's pretty gloomy. All they have is a house, and a farm from which they live off of.
1. The relationship between the two subjects in this painting is that the woman looks sort of shy because she is standing behind the man, and the man looks strong, willing to take control and protect the woman.
ReplyDelete2. I think this painting is called "American Gothic" because they are both wearing dark colors and that is the first thing that stands out to me in this painting. I agree with this image because of the sort of depression people were going though during this time. In this painting it creates an image of America being "gothic", in a sense that America was kind of on their own in this time period and people were not happy about it.
1- The fact that they are standing in front of a house seems to be there. Also, they are standing very close to each other.
ReplyDelete2- This painting is called "American Gothic" because it represents old time America, when it was beginning to build and run this country. this painting represents the early american western dream, when people wanted to farm and mine and stuff. I do agree with this painting because it shows what was a reality way back when.
1. The relationship of these two subjects has numerous characteristics. First of all, I think the two subjects are marrieed and live on a farm together. Possibly this picture is their family portrait. The wife looks like she is very distant from the relationship because she is looking off in the distance. It seems as if the couple is very bland and are bored with their lives.
ReplyDelete2.I believe the painting is called "American Gothic" because it is portraying the average American couple of the 1800's- early 1900's. Most families were based around farming and their whole lives revolved around argriculture. Those times weren't very exciting for many people and I think this couple is representing the "gothic" image of farmers during that era. I agree that farming was the main occupation of the time and that it must've been a very tedious lifestyle. I think the appearance of the subjects says a lot about how they feel about their lives.
1. in a way its a depressing painting it shows labor and sacrafice. and a very bold painting because it has every thing ur looking for right up front.
ReplyDelete2.again its depressing and it shows how hard america works for its freedom.
1.) I think the relationship is they are married and live on a farm. The man is willing to protect his wife and his farm as he looks very tough. The lady looks not into what they currently are doing as she is standing behind the man looking away.
ReplyDelete2.) I think the American Gothic is called that because it's showing a regular boring day of they way many familys got around in those days farming...and how they made money.
1. the relationship between the two farmers is that the man is willing to protect her and his property for his land and crops and other farming things.
ReplyDelete2. it is called the american gothic because every family has a good and a bad side. for instance this couple seems nice until you mess with there land and property. thats where the gothic side of them comes in.
1. I think that the two subjects in the painting are married because it is a man and a women and they are standing very close together. The Women is standing behind the man in this painting and that shows that the male has the power over the female as that is how it was in earlier times. They could also be related somehow but i would lean more towards them being married because the women is in nice dressy clothes where as the man is in more of work clothes because he would be outside farming and the women would be inside.
ReplyDelete2. I think it is called american Gothic because it shows the women in Gothic dress clothes that might be worn to church. I also think it is called Gothic because the house in the background is considered to be Gothic architecture because of the pointy windows and pointy roof.
1. I see a relationship between a father and a daughter and i think it wasnt his wife because he looks a lot older than she just because he has way more wrinkles on his face. i also think it is hard liveing out on a farm and they are buisy and drained. When i see the pitch fork i think he is a hard worker and he is the one who takes care of the farm i also think he has been doing this for a long time because of the drained look in his face and the wrinkles on his face. I also noticed that his right shoulder is in front of her so i think that represents his superiority over her so i think this picture was back when woman werent aloud to vote and drive etc.
ReplyDelete2. I think it is called american gothic because liveing on farms was hard back then because they didnt have all the supplies that we have today and also i would think the winters would be tough because you wouldnt be able to grow anything. I also think of the depression when i see this picture i see two people who are not wealthy trying to get by possably one of the hardest times the United States has ever seen.
1. The people in this painting look like they are married because they stand really close to each other.
ReplyDelete2. This paintin is called American Gothic because of the house in the back the window is gothic architecture, this image shows the american farmers from the fities.
1. I would describe the relationship between the couple in the painting as a very leader and follower relationship. I would say this because the wife is standing behind the husband. She is also looking at him like she is waiting for him to give her futher directions. Also the husband is holding a pitchfork which could be a symbol of leadership.
ReplyDelete2. I think that this picture is called the American Gothic because it somewhat describes the American culture back in the olden days. This painting creates a negative image of America, with the men being the dominate figures and then the women just being the backround figure. I do not agree with the image that this painting creates of America.
1. I think the relationship is a father and his daughter because the man looks a little old and the woman looks young and i don't think that the man would have a wife that young so it must be his daughter.
ReplyDelete2. I think that it is called the American Gothic because the people are wearing dark clothes and don't look very happy and look depressed.
1.in the painting i think it is two people that are married that are both farmers showing by there clothes and the pitch fork. The couple do not look very happy, maybe because they are worn out and tired of working so hard on there farm.
ReplyDeleteI think that the couple are an old married working couple. They aren't wearing nice clothes and it looks like theres a barn behind them. Also, the man is holding a pitch fork and he is wearing and old jean outfit. Maybe they look serious because they are in the depression when everyone was serious and had to worry about their money. I think it's called the American Gothic because they are really serious and they look average. They also might be religious.
ReplyDelete1. I this the relationship in this picture is a married couple who live on a farm. I think this because it has a house in the background, so i assume they live together. The man is holding a pitchfork in his hand, so he looks like he is working on the farm a lot. The woman looks like the housekeeper who cooks and does things around the house.
ReplyDelete2. I think this image is called "American Gothic" because they look like a hard working family who might not be happy with the situation they are in. This image creates a hard working American family who probably doesn't have a lot of money. I agree with this image because it can help us learn about what America was and how families lived.
1. I feel like they are an old married couple that ownes a ranch. the reason I think this is because the man is holding a pitch fork and there is a farm behind them, also they are wearing rancher clothes.
ReplyDelete2. I think it is called "The American Gothic"
because that is what america mostly was during the time this was painted. Most people in america worked on ranches durring this time.
3.
1. I think the relationship they have is husband and wife because they look about the same age and I think the woman is too old to be the mans daughter and vise versa. I think they are somewhat an old married couple that own a farm. I think that because the man is holding a pitch fork in his hand and i can see some kind of barn to the right of the picture.
ReplyDelete2. I think it is called "The American Gothic" because they look like they have two sides to them, they look mean and unhappy in the picture but they could be happy but not show it. I do agree with the image because they don't look exactly happy or satisfied with their situation.