American Gothic couple is ‘Iowa Stubborn’

As mentioned here before, Steven Biel, in his book "American Gothic" hints the first exposure for many of a certain age to American Gothic was in a parody, specifically the ending credits in Green Acres when Oliver Wendell Douglas (Eddie Albert) sang to his wife, Lisa (Eva Gabor), “You are my wife.” To which she responds, “Goodbye city life.” If not that scene then it was the image of the stoic pair on a on a box of cornflakes that graced many tables in the 1960s.

Now I am of the age to remember that scene, as well as the corn flake box, and after reading Biel’s book, I had to agree one of the two many have been my first exposure also. But upon further reflection, my first time, or at least the most memorable, may have been in the 1962 movie the Music Man starring Robert Preston and Shirley Jones.

If anyone remembers, in the opening scene Prof. Harold Hill (Preston) comes to River City, Iowa and starts asking questions about the town in general, what townsfolk do for fun, etc. Hill is met with less than outstretched arms, as all are a bit way of a stranger asking questions. Finally, after continuously being met with indifference, the townsfolk break into song (after all it is a musical) in an attempt to explain to Hill their unresponsive attitude. The song is “Iowa Stubborn.”

The lyrics explain that Iowans, by nature, have a “chip-on-the-shoulder attitude/ we’ve never been without/ that we recall” and that Iowans are so “by gone stubborn/ we could stand touchin’ noses/ for a week at a time/ and never see eye-to-eye.” The song attest to Iowan’s stoic and indifferent demeanor but also hints at something beneath the flinty exterior, of an empathy lying hidden to the outsider: “but we’ll give you are shirt/ and a back to go with it/ if you crops should happen to die.” Which does sum up Iowans quite well: stoic, uncaring and cold, unless you are having a rough patch and then they (we) are more than willing to pitch in and help.

In the final scene of the number workmen are carrying the frame from the shipping box the town’s first pool table arrived in and ironically frames a couple resembling the man and woman in American Gothic. The farmer and his wife sum up how the townspeople, and by extension all Iowans, feel toward strangers: “so, what the heck, you’re welcome/ glad to have you with us/ even though we may not ever mention it again.”  In other words, you are here but not that important, so get over it.

Whoever thought to parody American Gothic for this scene obviously spent some time studying the painting, as the man and wife appear to embody this attitude, as opposed to earlier interpretations that portrayed the couple as resolute, determined folks that embodied Iowa spirit and values. Which I am sure is accurate but indifference, stubbornness, wariness of strangers or anything new can also be seen in their faces—as in many Iowans. In classic parody fashion something familiar is bent just a bit to provide another, perhaps more accurate, meaning. Click here to view the entire scene to see if you agree.

Perhaps because it was one of my first exposures to a musical, the Music Man has stuck with me all these years and I have revisited it many times. Many scenes are etched in my memory including “One Grecian Urn” that haunted me in a literary theories class in college. The subject was John Keats poem, “Ode to a Grecian Urn.” Throughout the class every time the professor approached Keats poem (which still makes little sense to me) the mental image of Eulalie Mackechne Shinn, wife of Mayor Shinn and played by Hermione Gingold, along with her ladies aid club, doing their “One Grecian Urn” sketch crowded out any serious study.  I passed the class but with no help from the Music Man.

My favorite scene—and a persistent fantasy—is when Hill is attempting to woo the librarian, Marian, played by Shirley Jones, by singing “Marian the Librarian.” For my entire life I have longed to enter a library and discover the librarian’s name is Marian. At that time I would launch into a spirited chorus of: “what can I do, my dear, to catch your ear/ I love you madly, madly madam librarian, Marian.” Ah, the stuff of dreams.

Till next time.


Brian Chambers
Media Coordinator
American Gothic House Center
641-652-3352
wapellocountymediacoordinator@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

To find art, look to the soldiers of the 34th ID

Conventionally speaking, art is found in museums or galleries, normally quiet places frequented by people who have an interest in these things—and attend voluntarily. Rarely is it found in the fog of battle amongst the cacophony, the bloodshed and the trauma that is part and parcel of combat. But this is exactly the case since with one of the most decorated divisions in the United States Army—the 34th Infantry Division, or the “Red Bulls.”

Even those who have never served in the military are likely aware of the shoulder patches worn by soldiers. Every soldier has, on his or her left sleeve, their designated unit patch. Each unit patch is unique in its own right and signifies much more than a unit designation; it is a symbol of solidarity—and pride.

For over 20 years I too wore a shoulder patch and wore it proudly. For the soldiers who served in combat another patch—rarely the same one—is authorized for wear on the right sleeve. This is a permanent award intended to be worn as long as the uniform is, as opposed to the left sleeve insignia that changes dependent on the unit. I say with pride that my wife and son wear a right shoulder patch, attesting to their service in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now back to the Red Bulls.

The 34th Infantry Division, Army National Guard, made up of soldiers from Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and the Dakotas was organized in 1917 for World War I and reported to Camp Cody, New Mexico for training. Needing a unit designation insignia a contest was created to design a division patch.

Private First Class Marvin Cone, Cedar Rapids native and close friend of Grant Wood, was serving at Camp Cody in 1917 as a member of the 34th ID and entered the contest. He designed an insignia based on the shape of a Mexican water flask (Olla) with a bovine’s skull at the center, a symbol of the numerous herds of cattle seen by the soldiers around Camp Cody. Cone’s submission won the contest and became the official unit insignia of the 34th Infantry Division, consequently worn by thousands of soldiers heading to war.

Originally nicknamed the “Sandstorm Division” because of the constant presence of sand in the uniforms while in the New Mexican desert, the unit arrived too late in Europe to see any action. All that changed in World War II when the division was activated once more in support of world war.

The 34th ID was the first U.S. division shipped overseas and arrived in North Africa on Nov. 8, 1942. The division moved across the Sahara engaging German troops and eventually prevailing in May 1943. It was then deployed to Italy where fighting continued until the end of the war. The division is credited with serving more consecutive days in combat—517—than any other division in the European Theater. It was in Europe where it gained the “Red Bull” designation as German soldiers in Italy referred to the American soldiers who wore the patch as “Red Devils” or Red Bulls” (http://www.militaryvetshop.com/History/34thInfantryDivision.html) .

The division was deactivated after the war but soon reactivated as a National Guard division with soldiers primarily from Iowa and Minnesota. It still exists today. In the past decade, the division has served the country during the War on Terror and has the distinction (once again) of being the longest-serving National Guard unit in Iraq, deploying in March of 2006 and serving for 22 months, 16 in country.

Today, Cone’s design is proudly worn by 11,000-plus soldiers serving in the 34th. For many it is authorized for wear on both the left and right sleeve as the unit served and fought in a combat zone. This number does not include the thousands of former soldiers who wore the patch, serving with distinction in the division from World War I onward.

Marvin Cone and Grant Wood, besides being boyhood friends, remained lifelong colleagues, as they studied in France together and later formed the Stone City Art Colony in 1932. Cone, an artist in his own right, has works displayed in various locations across the United States, as well as at Coe College in Cedar Rapids where he served as art department head until 1960. He died in 1965 and is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Cedar Rapids.

Art is timeless and enduring. As Wood’s art forever lives in galleries and museums, Cone’s endures on the shoulders of proud soldiers and veterans sent off to serve their country, for almost a century, often in harm’s way.

Upcoming events

There has been an addition to the Grant Wood Birthday Soup Smorgasbord on Feb. 9 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the KD Center in Eldon as the Indian Hills Community College Chamber Singers will be performing. As with any performance by the superb vocalists from IHCC, the performance will be one not to miss.

Brian Chambers
Media Coordinator
American Gothic House Center
641-652-3352
wapellocountymediacoordinator@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

A little knowledge can be life-changing

I am a fan of arcane knowledge, virtually worthless information that serves little purpose other than to prove to others you have way too much time on your hands. For instance, what does the “S” stand for in Ulysses S. Grant? A common belief is it stands for “Simpson,” but actually it doesn’t represent anything. His real name was Hiram Ulysses Grant. He changed it because he didn't want to enter West Point with initials like H.U.G. (would you?). He was named Hiram, after his grandfather, and Ulysses, after the hero in Greek mythology. Feel free to us this at your next party if you want.

Now once in a while useless information can come in handy or, in extreme cases, put money in your pocket. As far as the former, it is good to know how to figure square footage and convert to square yardage when buying carpet, as floors are usually measured in square feet and carpet is sold in square yards (there is nine square feet in a square yard). Or have a rudimentary understanding of quantum physics when watching The Big Bang Theory. As far as arcane, obscure facts putting money in your pocket it doesn’t seem likely, however, that wasn’t the case with Nancy Christy.

Christy, in December of 2008, was facing one last question before walking away with a cool $1 million as a contestant on the game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire?  Anyone familiar with the show knows the tension during the final question. Meredith’s voice lowers a notch and her brow furrows lending gravity to the moment. In the background a timpani can be heard along with a touch of deep brass; the symphony equivalent of a drum roll. The contestant is nervous and apprehensive wondering if the final question will be something familiar. Is so, a millionaire is born. If not, sorry Charlie.

With her final question Christy was no different. The tension was thick, the apprehension palpable. Then it came: “Who did Grant Wood use as a model for the farmer in his classic painting American Gothic.” As soon as the question was asked, the tension drained from Christy’s face. In another venue, and not on national television, Christy might have stood up, threw her fist in the air and said “bring it on” (I have done this when playing Trivial Pursuit). But she didn’t. Rather, maintaining her decorum, she listened patiently while Meredith read her the choices: “Traveling Salesman, Local Sheriff, His Dentist or His Butcher.”

Prior to answering, Christy—ready to burst—explained she had worked in the theatre at one time and opened a show dressed as Nan, hinting she had this one in the bag. Then answered correctly: “His Dentist.” At that moment, the confetti dropped and Meredith, shedding her solemn demeanor, jubilantly announced Christy was the first woman $1 million winner. All because at one time in her life she took a bit more than a passing interest in American Gothic.

Since her big win, Christy has become a collector of Grant Wood memorabilia (and why not?). She has made a pilgrimage to the Chicago Art Institute to view the original American Gothic as well as visited here at the Center (picture to right). She has said for obvious reasons American Gothic changed her life. All because she knew an arcane, obscure bit of information having little impact on the universe. But significantly impacted her world.
Given this, a visit to the American Gothic House Center or a Google search for Grant Wood or American Gothic could turn a mental note into much more. Imagine the possibilities.

Click here to view Nancy Christy’s winning answer: Nancy Christy

One last piece of worthless information. For those who watch Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Meredith is only known by her first name, there is no mention of a surname as if she is just “Meredith” like Ghandi, Michaelangelo or Beyonce. Meredith does have a last name and it is Vieira. Never know it might win you some money someday. I doubt it, but then again...

Upcoming events

Winter has a tendency to be a bit slow here at the American Gothic House Center and events are sparse but a big one is on the horizon: Grant Wood’s Birthday Soup Smorgasbord on Feb. 9 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the KD Center in Eldon. Besides homemade soup and birthday cake there will be door prizes and the winner of the American Gothic House print by Chris Abigt will be drawn. So mark your calendar.

Click here to buy raffle tickets for original print framed with original porch boards from the American Gothic House: Raffle Tickets


Brian Chambers
Media Coordinator
American Gothic House Center
641-652-3352
wapellocountymediacoordinator@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

Want your spirits raised? Don’t read this

This smacks of a very poor cliché but January could be viewed, not only as the start of a new year, but the beginning of the rest of your life. A life that begins with the dreariest month of the year. Not only is the weather inhospitable, but in the aftermath of the Christmas season there is little to look forward to. Other than the rest of your life of course.

Since I am a novice scholar on Grant Wood, I use Google extensively to find a connection between Wood and whatever the subject of the week is. This time his painting, January, immediately popped up along with a narrative from somebody at the Cleveland Museum of Art where the painting is on display. As with the month, it doesn’t do much for the mood. An excerpt of the narrative follows:

“As winter blows outside the windows, my thoughts turn to the painting in our collection that perfectly encapsulates the solitude of mid-western life in this, the bleakest of months… The bleak subject matter of the painting, a frozen snowy landscape of corn shocks, dotted in the foreground with rabbit tracks trailing off, parallels the difficult final years of the artist’s life. At the time he painted the piece, Wood had just finished his seventh year at the University of Iowa. On sabbatical, recently divorced, and in failing health, Wood painted a desperate scene of the harsh truth of nature, exposed in almost geometrical precision on the canvas, row after row.”

It can be assumed that Wood had many good years of his life but 1941—the year he completed the painting—wasn’t going to be one of them. At least according to this entry. The author further explains “within several months, exploratory surgery found inoperable cancer. The artist prepared for the end of his life, while finishing up the remaining work in his studio. As he told his doctor, ‘I’ve still got a lot of pictures I want to paint.’”

Take a moment, if you will, to access the painting and the full narrative: Cleveland Museum of Art.

As can be seen the painting is, in fact, very desolate, and to humanize it, lonely. Perhaps Wood intended it to be. According to the Art Institute Images from Cartography Associates Library it was “Painted at a time when Wood and his work were under attack at the University of Iowa, the piece explores opposing themes of shelter and oblivion.”

During this time Wood and the University of Iowa were at a low point in their relationship. It can be understood why Wood believed he was isolated since other professionals at the university questioned his credentials to teach, as he did not hold a Masters or a Doctorate degree. His life-long ambition to share art with students was in jeopardy. Coupled with a failed marriage and obvious declining health at a relatively young age reason dictates these emotions would reflect in his art.

Upon inspection, the painting is indeed bleak. The corn shocks are lined up in seemingly endless symmetrical rows disappearing only at the horizon. January can be considered one of the longest months of the year, and the corn shocks hint to this. After all it is 31 days long, a length shared by only five other months. This doesn’t make it the longest, but considering the time of year it falls where the weather, other than a warm-up for a few days, seems to drag on, one dreary, cold, short day after another.

It is reported January sold immediately, bought by film producer King Vidor. The Cleveland Museum of Art notes that Vidor remarked about the painting: “In Grant Wood’s ‘January’ I have the whole feeling of America right in my own dining room.”

The remark is a bit hard for me to unpack. If January is so bleak, which it is, both the month and the painting, why would Vidor believe it represented “the whole feeling of America?” Are we all this down in January? It is possible considering the baggage that comes with the month—the post-Christmas blues, the resolutions intended to improve but the fact one needs made is an indication of a shortcoming, tax season on the horizon, and, of course, the seemingly endless depressing weather. With Wood facing all that, as well as his personal luggage weighting him down, it is no wonder that January reflects such a forlorn landscape.

Feel any better? I thought not.

If you are still reading after those depressing thoughts, there is a bright spot in the month and it will be this Saturday, Jan. 12 at Bridge View Center where, from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. the annual Eagle Watch will be in full swing.

The Eagle Watch features a program, displays, a hike along the Des Moines River and eagle watching, with spectacular views of eagles flying and feeding on the Des Moines River from both inside and outside Bridge View.

Besides the eagles the staff at the American Gothic House Center will be inside Bridge View (where it is warm) manning a booth where, in case you don’t get a photograph of an eagle, the American Gothic face cutout will be set up and ready for pictures. Coloring sheets will also be on hand, along with the current calendar of events and raffle tickets for the American Gothic House print.

Till next time.


Brian Chambers
Media Coordinator
American Gothic House Center
641-652-3352
wapellocountymediacoordinator@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

Much in store for the New Year

Here we are in another year, 2013 to be exact, in case you forgot to buy a calendar. Which, by the way, I did and only realized it last night when I glanced at the calendar in the kitchen where December, with its marked dates of where to go and what to do, glared back at me. I guess a new calendar goes on my “to do” list.

Speaking of things to do, I have a tendency to Google quotes upon occasion, for a couple of reasons. The first is to shed light on a subject that I have on my mind, and the second is reinforce my belief there are a lot of people out there smarter than me. Anyway, with a new year on my mind I had a desire to find out what other folks have said about it.

Predictably, there are many thoughts on the subject, some funny, some introspective, many very cynical. In the latter category, my favorites are from Mark Twain, which I will share a couple later. But the one that best fit today’s post was a quote from syndicated columnist Ellen Goodman:

“We spend January 1st walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives...not looking for flaws, but for potential.”

That is what we here at the Center did when planning the events for the year. What went wrong wasn’t given much time, but rather what could be offered to better inform, educate, and yes, entertain. And this year has the potential to do just that.

The year kicks off with the annual Grant Wood Birthday Soup Smorgasbord held at the Eldon KD Center on Saturday, Feb 9 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. In addition to the exceptional soup prepared and served by the volunteers, along with the birthday cake and brownies, there will be a drawing for the winner of the American Gothic House print, framed with porch boards from the American Gothic House. To view the print and to buy raffle tickets click here: The American Gothic House Print.

On March 30 from 1 to 3 p.m. the American Gothic House Center will hold the first-ever Easter Egg Roll at our “White House.” Modeled after the time-honored event in Washington, D.C., where children roll eggs across the White House lawn, we hope it will become an annual tradition.

In April, the lecture series continues as Laural Ronk and Richard Miller of the Bluffs Art Council share the story of Grant Wood’s time in Council Bluffs and his painting of the Pioneer and Corn Room murals in Eugene Eppley’s Chieftain Hotel in the late 1920s. This mural has recently been discovered and provides a glimpse into the life of Grant Wood before his fame with American Gothic. Held at the Eldon Public Library on Sunday, April 14 from 2 to 3 p.m.

Also on the agenda in April is the Grant Wood bus trip on Saturday the 27th. The itinerary takes travelers from Eldon to Ames where stops will be made at Iowa State University Library, where two of Wood’s murals are displayed, a stroll through the Anderson Sculpture Garden and a tour of the Farm House Museum. The day will wrap up at the Reiman Gardens where Iowa landscape-themed gardens are the focus. For more information contact the American Gothic House Center at 641.652.3352 or email theamericangthichouse@gmaiul.com.

On Friday, May 24, a new exhibit “Parodies of a Portrait: American Gothic’s Place in Society” will be unveiled at the Center. American Gothic continues to be one of the most parodied paintings in the world. “Parodies of a Portrait” explores the history of these parodies and how this iconic painting is interpreted in society.

In June, in concert with American Gothic House Days in Eldon, the Center has a number of events on tap. On June 8 and 9, there will be an American Gothic House Art Contest open to anyone regardless of age. On Saturday, June 8, the American Gothic House 5K Walk/Run will be held and on Sunday, June 9, the American Gothic Bike Ride will take riders through a scenic ride of the Eldon area. Visit www.TheAmericanGothicHouse.net for more details.

To round out the last third of the year, the annual Volunteer Appreciation Potluck supper is scheduled for Sept. 28, the Children’s Gothic House Party on Oct. 26, a lecture by Rudolph Daniels “Trains Across Iowa” on Nov. 10 and Gingerbread House Building on Dec. 7.

As can be seen, this upcoming year holds much promise. Take note of these events, add them to your calendar (if you have one yet) and we hope to see you sometime in the future.

Now, as pledged, a couple of New Year quotes from the master cynic Mark Twain:

"Yesterday, everybody smoked his last cigar, took his last drink and swore his last oath. Today, we are a pious and exemplary community. Thirty days from now, we shall have cast our reformation to the winds and gone to cutting our ancient shortcomings considerably shorter than ever."

"New Year's Day: Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual."

As good as these are, my personal favorite is not from my hero Twain, but from James Agate, English author and theatre critic:

“New Year's Resolution: To tolerate fools more gladly, provided this does not encourage them to take up more of my time.”

Happy New Year!

Brian Chambers
Media Coordinator
American Gothic House Center
641-652-3352
wapellocountymediacoordinator@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