Thursday, December 27, 2012

Who gets the money?

Every so often at the Center we field questions pertaining to the copyright, royalties and fees from American Gothic. This probably would not be of interest if the painting was obscure or only known within tight art circles. But since American Gothic is recognized and known far outside the art set, it is conceivable many would inquire as to who gets what from the reproduction (whether in parody form or original) from the original work.

In the past, when such a questions has been asked, we have responded that the copyright to American Gothic is held by the Figge Museum of Art (formerly Davenport Museum of Art) in Davenport, Iowa. And for the most part this is correct. However, a recently discovered blog prompted us to dig a bit deeper as to where royalties from American Gothic end up.

The blog—http://insroland.org/americangothic—made the claim that “every licensing fee for reproduction of her brother's masterpiece has been split between the Union Rescue Mission and the Riverside County Coalition for Alternatives to Domestic Violence,” both located in the area of Los Angeles, Calif. where Nan Wood Graham lived in her later years.

We did not doubt Nan named these organizations in her will and they did receive some benefits from American Gothic, it was the claim that “every licensing fee” was split between the two, implying these were the only recipients of any proceeds of the painting. In order to verify—or refute—this information a little detective work was in order.

Donning my rumpled Columbo overcoat and with a tip of my fedora I did what every capable modern-day sleuth does: write an email. The recipient was Robert Panzer, executive director of the Visual Arts and Galleries Association (VAGA), the organization that takes care of questions of copyright, licensing fees and the like under the umbrella of “art.” I sent him the blog in question and asked if he would shed some light on the subject. As suspected, he replied the blog was a bit misleading.

Mr. Panzer explained all copyrights to American Gothic are indeed held by the Figge Museum, however, there are other rights germane to Nan Wood Graham that are bit less cut and dried. An excerpt of his letter is as follows:

        "American Gothic is protected by two rights: Copyright and Right of Publicity.  Rights of Publicity are something like privacy rights, which individuals have  when it comes to the commercial use of their names, voices and likenesses… As I’m sure you know, Nan Wood Graham is portrayed in American Gothic and hence, if you want to reproduce AG in a commercial manner (such as on merchandise and in advertising) you would need to clear NWG’s rights of publicity.  Since Nan did not specifically mention rights of publicity in her will, these rights went to various beneficiaries named in her will that received the residuary of the will.  Residuary means anything that Nan owned that wasn’t detailed in the will.  There were a number of beneficiaries, with the Union Rescue Mission and the Riverside County Coalition for Alternatives to Domestic Violence being just two of them.  All the beneficiaries have hired VAGA to act as their licensing agent for clearing rights to AG for commercial uses.  Fees we collect for non-commercial uses of AG go to the Figge."

In case you are wondering a “non-commercial” use is think school textbooks as an example. Anyway, as can be seen, the rights to American Gothic are not exactly black and white.  As with anything that is born from the mind and reproduced, the monetary rights can be bit fuzzy. And with the passing of years it gets even fuzzier. It is reassuring, however, that proceeds from American Gothic, at least in part, go to a good cause.

In this same vein, Nan Wood Graham has taken numerous publications to task as to their depiction of American Gothic. To read a little about this, visit these links:
People Magazine
Hustler Article

Upcoming events at the American Gothic House Center:

Feb. 9 Grant Wood Birthday Soup Smorgasbord

The Center will be closed Tuesday, Jan 1 for New Year’s Day.

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

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Longing for a perfect world

American Gothic House Center
If wrinkles must be written upon our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should not grow old.
        -  President James A. Garfield
Normally, I prefer to reserve this place for something rather light, nothing serious or contentious as this world is already filled with too much of that. Today, however, the grievous event from last Friday prevents me from doing this. It is impossible to ignore.
In the aftermath of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., the above quote from James Garfield kept popping into my mind. I ran across it some time back and it struck me as words to live by, reminding me that life is good. Regardless what troubling situations come my way, no matter how disconcerting, it should not be allowed to damper the spirit. Although my mind may be troubled, my heart should remain constant and my spirit should remain young and soar on the wings of life. After last Friday, it has been much more difficult to believe this.
In life there are some things that are invariably written on the heart—good things—a kind word or gesture, the love of spouse or companion, or a magnificent sunrise that fills the soul with all the beauty and possibility of a new day. For a parent, the heart is forever stamped when holding a new-born son or daughter, and gazing for the first time into the wonder of life; touching the tiny fingers and toes, telling her for the first time how she is loved—only minutes old—while holding close the sweet pink bundle of life.
As time and years progress the handwriting on the heart continues. An “I love you, Mommy” spoken through tears and a trembling lip after a hug and a bandage following a sidewalk mishap. The pride of writing his name for the first time, of being able to read Green Eggs and Ham and asking you to make to make it for supper. The loss of a tooth and the magical appearance of a quarter beneath the pillow the next morning. “Did the tooth fairy really leave this, Daddy?” Words that long for answers to the wonders of the life that is unfolding before his eyes, every minute of every day. Words that were undoubtedly spoken by the 20 first-graders in Newtown.
Of course the early years can be thought of as the most precious, when life is new and exciting—for everyone—and before the teen years arrive, where life, at times, is trying but not without its moments. Unfortunately, the parents of the 20 first graders at Sandy Hook Elementary will never experience comforting that child as a sobbing teenage daughter suffering her first break-up (“it will be alright, honey”), or putting an arm around the shoulders of the son who just won the 100-meter dash, squeezing hard and saying “Good job, son.” A bullet ended this dream, not an accident, not a random act of nature, but an intentional act of violence that dashed hopes and dreams that will never be realized. An act so heinous, so disturbing, so inconceivable, that it can never be understood or accepted, and for ever—and ever—written on the heart.
As of last Friday, the spirit of parents, and grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins and strangers like me grew older. The handwriting on the heart caused by the actions of a lone gunman is too heavy, too burdensome, to carry without affect. It is not the way it should be. In a perfect world a parent should never have to bury a child. But we live far from a perfect world. How unfortunate.

Endowment Fund Raffle
There is one matter of American Gothic House Center business that needs to be addressed today and that is the announcement of the raffle for the American Gothic House Center Endowment Fund.
As many of you know, the Center has been in the process of establishing an endowment fund through the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation in the hopes someday fully funding the center to make it self-sufficient. This, of course, is years down the road, but every journey must start somewhere.
Recently, the endowment fund has been approved and the Center, as an initial act of raising money for the fund, has a print of the American Gothic House framed with original porch boards salvaged from the renovation from last summer. Tickets are $1 each or six for $5 with the drawing held on Feb. 9 during the Grant Wood Birthday Soup Smorgasbord at KD Center in Eldon, Iowa. Click here to view the print and to purchase 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

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Hansel and Gretel never had it so good

Take away the spineless woodcarver, the nasty stepmother and the wicked witch, last Saturday the American Gothic House Center was a place where Hansel and Gretel would have been comfortable—and without the threat of being abandoned and eaten.

Not exactly lost in the woods, children from all over flocked to the Center to build their own Gingerbread House without fear of being shoved into a cage to fatten or thrown into an oven. Arguably the best way to build a gingerbread house.

For the whole of the afternoon children, along with their parents (who showed no signs of leaving them to fend for themselves as the father in the fairy tale did) streamed through the front doors and were met by a line of volunteers ready to dole out the building materials: graham crackers, a plethora of candy including gum drops, mints, life savers, chocolate chips, red hots, M&Ms, pretzels, marshmallows, and, of course, plenty of frosting.

A word needs to be said here about the frosting. Anyone who has had the pleasure of decorating a cake or cookies with small children knows that frosting can be problematic. Instead of being applied to the given confection in a neat and orderly fashion, many times the frosting gets sidetracked to a head of hair, stuck in an ear (especially of there is a brother and sister involved) or fed to the dog. In short, any spot but the intended one. Not so at the Center on Saturday. Instead, each child was issued a plastic bag full of frosting with the corner cut out just enough to lay a thin bead of frosting on the intended target leaving little or no mess. Amazing. Who ever came up with this idea should be nominated for the volunteer of the year, or just really smart person of the year.

Once the supplies were in hand the young builders found a place at one of the many tables scattered throughout the Center and began the task of constructing a unique gingerbread creation.

At times, especially among adults, there is a tendency to lump all children together. After all, they are just kids and there has not been enough years pass for them to develop and hone distinct personalities and skills. When watching these builders, however, nothing could be farther from the truth, as a unique personality and talent could be observed in each young engineer.

Some builders were ever-so-serious and strove for meticulous detail, going for quality over quantity as far as various accoutrements. Others wanted to make sure their house had as much candy stuck to it as possible, while others were more into landscaping, ensuring there was a paved candy sidewalk leading to the house and bushes made of lifesavers and topped with frosting. Could one of these children be the next Frank Lloyd Wright or Frederick Law Olmstead? Perhaps.

As with any activity involving young children, mounds of sticky frosting, dozens of pieces of candy and brittle graham crackers, it can be assured there would be plenty of work for the clean-up crew. Surprisingly—or perhaps not considering the organization of the event—with upwards to 70 children building houses, there was nothing left over except cracker dust and a few drops of errant frosting. As a bonus, nobody threatened to eat the children, as there were no wicked witches among the volunteers.

There is one other parallel to Grimm’s fairy tale. By the looks of the children leaving the Center with their house proudly displayed on the aluminum foil-covered cardboard with parents in tow—they very well could live happily ever after.


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

Thursday, December 6, 2012

An artist…and a teacher

 American Gothic House Center
After last week’s blog there was a measure of interest as to Grant Wood’s teaching career. How long did he teach, where at, etc., were some of the questions that I received. Since this blog (who invented this label?) is devoted to all things Grant Wood, I thought a brief outline of Wood’s reaching career would be in order.

After graduating high school in 1910 and following a short stint at the Arts and Craft Guild in Minneapolis, where he studied copper work and making jewelry, Wood returned to Cedar Rapids and obtained a teaching license in 1911 and taught at a country school in Rosedale for the 1911-12 school year. Evidently, he had further ambitions of being a teacher as, at the time, teaching at a country school qualified him to teach at a city school without benefit of a college education. Or maybe he just needed a job, who knows?

After his year at Rosedale there is little evidence Wood taught again until after his discharge from the army, when, in 1919, he applied for an art teacher position in the Cedar Rapids schools. He was selected and his first classroom was at Jackson Junior High School. He was a bit short on money to buy the standard clothes teaches wore, so he taught classes wearing his army uniform. There is no doubt that Wood was a novelty at the school with his OD-green garb, but no doubt the kids got a kick out of it.

Teaching must have been a good fit for him as he was soon moved up to the high school level and taught there until 1927—although there were a couple of breaks. One during the summer of 1920 (not really a break as school wasn’t held in the summer) when he traveled to Europe with Marvin Cone, another when he took a leave of absence from 1923-24 returning to Europe to study in Paris.

After his time at Cedar Rapids schools Wood parked his teaching hat for a time while he pursued being an artist (you may have heard of some of his more noted works such as American Gothic, etc.). He did, however, accept an invitation to teach at the University of Iowa in 1934 where he had a measure of success. According to the archives, Wood began as a temporary hire but soon matriculated into a full-time associate professor. The art department also benefitted, as enrollment increased from 550 to 750 after just one year.

His time at U of I wasn’t without conflict, however. Many of his colleagues, miffed by the fact that Wood did not have an art degree, questioned and criticized his work. And he had a running battle with the department as to how much time should be devoted to teaching art history versus the creative work required to earn a Master of Arts degree (Wood, of course, sided with the creative side). The tug-of-war caused Wood so much grief he threatened to quit, but instead took a leave of absence during the 1940-41 school year.

Wood did return to the university in 1941 with the full support of the administration but it was short lived, as Wood died the next year on Feb. 12, 1942. (Taken from http://www.wapellocounty.org/americangothic/educate/gwlife.htm.)

Stories abound of various artists, regardless of the genre, that become recluses and bury themselves in their profession, their art or literature. Given Wood’s subject matter of his paintings—real life Iowans, the landscapes, the rural way of life—it seems fitting that Wood chose teaching as a parallel career. In order to paint as he did, he would have to stay engaged with life, and what better way to do it than teach?

It is inherent in a teacher to want to connect with students, to explore their thoughts and ideas, engage their minds, and, in turn, this engagement stimulates their own thoughts and forms—over the years—a unique, and singular, worldview. I am sure Wood was no different, and this engagement impacted, in some way, his development into, and legacy as, a world-class artist. 

Upcoming events at the Center:

Don’t miss the Gingerbread House Building being held this Saturday, Dec. 8 from 1 to 4 p.m. Plenty of volunteers and goodies will be on hand to fashion gingerbread creations for the holiday season.

Also this weekend is “Christmas in Eldon.” From Friday through Sunday, Eldon offers many activities including “Christmas in Wanderland” at the McHaffey Opera House where over 100 Christmas trees are on display. The Rock Island Depot will also be open and decked out for the holidays. Click here for a complete listing of activities in Eldon for the weekend.

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