Thursday, October 27, 2011

A Poetry Treat!

Writer David K. Leff recently sent me a poem he wrote after visiting the American Gothic House a few years ago:

Believing is Seeing (a poem about America's most recognized painting)

Posed with a pitchfork
before a board-and-batten, steep gabled cottage
with a pointed window, the American Gothic
couple gazes from the canvass in eternal taciturnity.

In the hushed, polished halls of downtown
Chicago hangs this two-faced symbol
of gritty, rural resourcefulness
and small-town rigidity.

I stand among millions who’ve stared back, unsure
what I’m seeing, caught between a kitsch joke
and a culture hungry for something deep, enduring
and blessed by high art.

A little battered and alligatored with old
paint, the structure still sits as Grant Wood
sketched it in a whimsical stop-the-car
moment. Having already been there without traveling,

I walked around amazed at its sudden
three-dimensionality, the sky as pale and luminous
as the painter’s pigment. I conjured
the grim-faced iconic couple out front, knowing

they never lived there, weren’t paired
or even painted together. But the artist’s sister and dentist
were destined to stand just beyond the porch,
married forever in a sacred, fractured authenticity

Not so much a painting as a mirror, this American
Sphinx is Old Glory and Miss Liberty,
has marketed greeting cards and television shows,
sold cereal and promoted politicians.

Patriotic fairytale more real than an Eldon, Iowa
house or two people who sat for their portraits,
it tells us stories we are starved to hear
because what we believe is what we see.


Thank you to David for sharing his lovely poem! You can read this poem, and other samples of his work, at his website: www.davidkleff.com


Holly Berg

Administrator
American Gothic House Center
theamericangothichouse@gmail.com


The American Gothic House Center strives to become financially independent through gift shop revenue, sponsorships, and by establishing an endowment fund. Funds raised in this campaign will be used to match the Iowa Cultural Trust Endowment Challenge Grant and will become endowment funds to support the Center's annual operations. As a subscriber to the weekly newsletter, you have already shown support for the American Gothic House Center. I invite you to strengthen your role in the valuable experience we provide the community by making a contribution to our fund drive. Click here to give your tax deductible gift, or head to our website for more information. Thank you to all who have donated so far!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Homecoming Parade and Halloween is just around the corner!

Fall is in full swing in this neck of the woods, and the Center has still been keeping very busy with visitors, especially bus tours! So many visitors have been through on their quest to find fall colors that I have kept the fall color report up on my computer every day!

With it being a bustling time at the Center, I almost forgot to share our recent homecoming experience! As part of the Cardinal High School homecoming festivities, AGHC had an entry in the Homecoming Parade. We decorated a truck with Cardinal colors and placed our gothic house cutout in the back. Our two high school participants showed their Cardinal Comet pride while sitting in front of our gothic house backdrop. Check out these photos from our entry!


Don’t forget about the upcoming Gothic Halloween Party! The event will run from 2-3 pm Saturday, October 29th. The event is open to children preschool through fifth grade (parents are encouraged to attend with small their small children). Activities will include a pumpkin-pitchfork relay, make your own stained-glass candy corn and decorate spooky cookies. A mad scientist will even be at the event with exciting experiments! The Pitchfork Pie Stand will also be open that day for “Pumpkin Pie Palooza” from Noon-4pm!


Holly Berg


Administrator
American Gothic House Center
theamericangothichouse@gmail.com


The American Gothic House Center strives to become financially independent through gift shop revenue, sponsorships, and by establishing an endowment fund. Funds raised in this campaign will be used to match the Iowa Cultural Trust Endowment Challenge Grant and will become endowment funds to support the Center's annual operations. As a subscriber to the weekly newsletter, you have already shown support for the American Gothic House Center. I invite you to strengthen your role in the valuable experience we provide the community by making a contribution to our fund drive. Click here to give your tax deductible gift, or head to our website for more information. Thank you to all who have donated so far!

Our Mission: Integrating the puzzle pieces of American Gothic

300 American Gothic St | Eldon, IA 52554 | 641-652-3352 | theamericangothichouse@gmail.com

Homecoming Parade and Halloween is just around the corner!

Fall is in full swing in this neck of the woods, and the Center has still been keeping very busy with visitors, especially bus tours! So many visitors have been through on their quest to find fall colors that I have kept the fall color report up on my computer every day!

With it being a bustling time at the Center, I almost forgot to share our recent Homecoming experience! As part of the Cardinal High School homecoming festivities, AGHC had an entry in the Homecoming Parade. We decorated a truck with Cardinal colors and placed our gothic house cutout in the back. Our two high school participants showed their Cardinal Comet pride while sitting in front of our gothic house backdrop. Check out these photos from our entry!


Don’t forget about the upcoming Gothic Halloween Party! The event will run from 2-3 pm Saturday, October 29th. The event is open to children preschool through fifth grade (parents are encouraged to attend with small their small children). Activities will include a pumpkin-pitchfork relay, make your own stained-glass candy corn and decorate spooky cookies. A mad scientist will even be at the event with exciting experiments! The Pitchfork Pie Stand will also be open that day for “Pumpkin Pie Palooza” from Noon-4pm!


Holly Berg


Administrator
American Gothic House Center
theamericangothichouse@gmail.com


The American Gothic House Center strives to become financially independent through gift shop revenue, sponsorships, and by establishing an endowment fund. Funds raised in this campaign will be used to match the Iowa Cultural Trust Endowment Challenge Grant and will become endowment funds to support the Center's annual operations. As a subscriber to the weekly newsletter, you have already shown support for the American Gothic House Center. I invite you to strengthen your role in the valuable experience we provide the community by making a contribution to our fund drive. Click here to give your tax deductible gift, or head to our website for more information. Thank you to all who have donated so far!

Our Mission: Integrating the puzzle pieces of American Gothic

300 American Gothic St | Eldon, IA 52554 | 641-652-3352 | theamericangothichouse@gmail.com

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Jerry Ranch Photo Auction and a Thank You to our Volunteers

American Gothic House Center

As part of our endowment campaign, the American Gothic House Center is now auctioning a beautiful print donated by photographer Jerry Ranch. The work was created by photographer Jerry Ranch (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ranchjp/) in 2010. The image was taken from inside the American Gothic House and is a composite of 10 separate photographs. The print is the only one in existence, and the artist has stated that no others will be created making it one-of-a-kind!

The work is hung in a simple black frame and measures 31 inches x 38 inches. All proceeds from the auction will go towards matching funds for our Iowa Cultural Trust Endowment Challenge Grant. Bids can be made in person at the Center, over the phone, by email, or on our website. For more information on the auction please visit the auction page on our website: http://www.wapellocounty.org/americangothic/events/auction.html


Also, last Saturday, the American Gothic House Center hosted its annual Volunteer Potluck. We had excellent weather and everyone had an enjoyable time! As not everyone could attend, I would like to take this time to thank all of the volunteers at the Center for their hard work and dedication. The Center could not operate without you, and I greatly appreciate your continued efforts. Furthermore, I would like to thank all of the volunteers for helping me become settled into my new position over the last few months. I hope to continue to build lasting friendships with everyone through our work together at the Center.



Holly Berg


Administrator
American Gothic House Center
theamericangothichouse@gmail.com


The American Gothic House Center strives to become financially independent through gift shop revenue, sponsorships, and by establishing an endowment fund. Funds raised in this campaign will be used to match the Iowa Cultural Trust Endowment Challenge Grant and will become endowment funds to support the Center's annual operations. As a subscriber to the weekly newsletter, you have already shown support for the American Gothic House Center. I invite you to strengthen your role in the valuable experience we provide the community by making a contribution to our fund drive. Click here to give your tax deductible gift, or head to our website for more information. Thank you to all who have donated so far!

Our Mission: Integrating the puzzle pieces of American Gothic

300 American Gothic St | Eldon, IA 52554 | 641-652-3352 | theamericangothichouse@gmail.com