Iowa Art - American Gothic Tactile Interpretation

1. American Gothic Tactile Interpretation

This interpretation of Grant Wood's American Gothic now hangs directly inside the doors to the Iowa Department for the Blind on the wall to the left between the up and down staircases.

This piece is a tactile representation of Iowa artist Grant Wood's iconic American Gothic painting. American Gothic features a man and a woman standing in front of a farmhouse. The man is holding a pitchfork. The woman is wearing a dress and print apron, with a cameo at the neckline. The man and woman have reserved serious expressions. The man is wearing a jacket over a shirt and overalls. He is wearing glasses and holding a pitchfork. The tines of the pitchfork are echoed in the stitching in his overalls.

The house behind the couple has a Gothic Revival style. It has a pointed roof, with a prominent arch window in the second story. The representation of the house is made from cherry wood. Behind the man's shoulder is a representation of a barn. The barn is smaller demonstrating its location farther from the scene. Like the house it is made of cherry wood.

The background sky and trees are carved in slate as well as the clothes the man and woman are wearing. Their faces, his hand, the pitchfork, his shirt buttons and her cameo are cast in bronze.