How American Gothic became an icon

Рет қаралды 2,198,979

6 жыл бұрын

How did American Gothic go from third place painting to icon? There's a story to this famous painting.
Find the Overrated Facebook page here:
/ overratedtheshow
Find Phil Edwards on Facebook here:
/ philedwardsinc1
Grant Wood's American Gothic is a classic painting. But to understand its fame, you have to learn some context about how it became an icon.
When Grant Wood painting his sister and dentist in front of a house in Eldon, Iowa, he didn't know his painting would become iconic. But American Gothic soon became the subject of countless homages and parodies.
Wood's place in American art history is unique - and worth knowing to truly appreciate American Gothic.
Subscribe to our channel! goo.gl/0bsAjO
Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out www.vox.com to get up to speed on everything from Kurdistan to the Kim Kardashian app.
Check out our full video catalog: goo.gl/IZONyE
Follow Vox on Twitter: goo.gl/XFrZ5H
Or on Facebook: goo.gl/U2g06o

Пікірлер: 1 100

@Tinomentoll 6 жыл бұрын

So essentially American Gothic is a 1930's meme

@jayglass4048 6 жыл бұрын

pretty much.

@leave.me.alone189yearsago5 5 жыл бұрын

Ancient memes

@ronaldweasley4493 5 жыл бұрын

1000th like

@luv2charlie 5 жыл бұрын

Tinomentoll the meme that keeps on meme'ing, haha

@ze2149 4 жыл бұрын

Memes are an artform lol

@larrytraber 6 жыл бұрын

Vox.. Making me care about things I don't care about But srsly this painting is everywhere

@jaykay6249 6 жыл бұрын

C4kes Wow ....so original.

@jaykay6249 6 жыл бұрын

Such an original comment.

@larrytraber 6 жыл бұрын

TFPanther28 LOL SHE HAS A NEW BOOK?!?!! LOL XD

@oa2952 6 жыл бұрын

C4kes it's because it's true

@oa2952 6 жыл бұрын

TFPanther28 not as much as conservatives when it comes to climate change lol

@d34dch1n4d0ll 6 жыл бұрын

*So back in the day, Mr.Wood created his own meme?*

@garrettallen7427 6 жыл бұрын

Ipek BB not only that, but an original meme that everyone else copied

@williamofdallas 6 жыл бұрын

memes have been around way longer than the internet my dude

@uriels.hernandez6512 6 жыл бұрын

Y'all catch the watermark.

@SirIsaacNewtonOfficial 6 жыл бұрын

Ipek BB he was a meme artist before it was cool

@felixthehuman 6 жыл бұрын

Artists works have been becoming popular as long as there has been art. It's just the terminology around it that's changed.

@johnl.7754 6 жыл бұрын

I think it is important to note the $300 in 1930 is worth around $4300 today. With the Great Depression starting already it might have not been seen as a small amount.

@TasX 6 жыл бұрын

4k is plenty. But also nowadays, I think 4K can pay off basic life necessities for like 1 month (tax, food, bills, etc)

@dreamlandnightmare 5 жыл бұрын

@Radi Bear Granted, I live alone and am considerably frugal, but my living expenses are only around $900/month.

@tomspice73 5 жыл бұрын

300 dollars then is about 30000 now

@danielorr7124 5 жыл бұрын

Average pay in the 1930's was around 20 to 30 dollars per week. So $300 dollars was a decent payday, not a fortune but it would get you through a couple of months.

@milkflys 5 жыл бұрын

still, $4300 will only get you through a few months even if you live alone in a modest apartment.

@TheRockerX 6 жыл бұрын

Vox: Giving you useful information you didn't know you needed.

@Daniel-vd5hm 6 жыл бұрын

*giving you useful information you know you didn't need

@jul2447 6 жыл бұрын

Daniel Furtado It could actually be useful

@souhridyobose4362 4 жыл бұрын

School: Giving you useless information you Kno you won't need. School: Close enough

@yeshi2031 3 жыл бұрын

@@jul2447 I doubt it’d be useful to people who saw this, maybe a small amount but not much.

@pollymahone9392 6 жыл бұрын

I see this painting EVERYWHERE

@spiritedrenee9895 6 жыл бұрын

Close your eyes.

@ppmch 6 жыл бұрын

close your eyes saitama

@spiritedrenee9895 6 жыл бұрын

SAME. Even in my dreams-NiGhNtMaReS-

@janaekelis 6 жыл бұрын

Polly Mahone *scrolls down* *sees saitama on top*

@alexanderl8794 6 жыл бұрын

You must live in Iowa

@SSSupCreeper 6 жыл бұрын

so it was a meme

@theobuniel9643 6 жыл бұрын

Yeah, it was a meme, before memes were even a thing.

@SnoozeTheRecluse 6 жыл бұрын

LagiNaLangAko23 *tips fedora*

@user-my4kx1sy2z 6 жыл бұрын

LagiNaLangAko23 i don't know about all that

@Grayhome 6 жыл бұрын

It is still a meme.

@daylaconhor 6 жыл бұрын

A 6 minutes long video in one sentence

@SWLinPHX 6 жыл бұрын

When I was little I always thought those two people were miserable and probably mean to kids, LOL.

@deirdregibbons5609 4 жыл бұрын

Me, too.

@realSimoneCherie 3 жыл бұрын

Same

@animec-dramaskpop6362 6 жыл бұрын

Wait a minute...he made his sister look like that so people *wouldn't* think she was the old dudes wife. That's the first thing I thought. Lol

@PumpkingsLol 6 жыл бұрын

Kassie Mitchell its so people wouldnt thinks SHE was his wife because the painting wouldn't look like her

@heatherpowell1838 6 жыл бұрын

I think it was more for the people who knew the artists' sister and dentist personally, not for us

@animec-dramaskpop6362 6 жыл бұрын

Heather Powell Oh okay, that makes a lot more sense.

@coreycox2345 6 жыл бұрын

I always assumed that they were a not much fun married couple..

@matieking 6 жыл бұрын

No, he made her face longer so she wouldn't be recognized from the painting (as the wife of the old dentist). It's to avoid her being recognized at all.

@erinthesystem9608 6 жыл бұрын

I learned in an Art History class that the woman who is pictured was ACTUALLY intended to represent the man's unmarried, maiden daughter (rather than his wife). This would account for their differences both in age and in expression. Gives new meaning to that pitchfork, doesn't it?

@TasX 6 жыл бұрын

Are you implying that the farmer guy is gonna "pitchfork" the girl?

@philipocarroll 6 жыл бұрын

Radi Bear innuendo only works when it's not explained...

@hebneh 6 жыл бұрын

I was going to point this out as well. But the caption in the 1930 New York Times clipping about the painting winning third prize in the contest (shown in this video), which is undoubtedly among the first publicity "American Gothic" ever got, says it's of a farmer "and his wife", not his daughter.

@hebneh 6 жыл бұрын

No, it's that the farmer is guarding the virginity of his special daughter and not allowing any man to get near her. So she will remain on the farm, unmarried, and by the time her father finally dies she'll be too old to get married because no man will want her. So she is doomed to an unfulfilled, depressed, tragic life. No fun, no laughs, ever. And she knows that'll be her fate. At least that's how I see it.

@velvet.velourr 5 жыл бұрын

hebneh wow

@koh9277 6 жыл бұрын

I don't think it's overrated just because it picked up on societal conflicts of the time, art is supposed to express an idea, and if so many people identified the idea grant wood expressed, then I think that does make it great art

@RobertJRoman 6 жыл бұрын

They didn't explicitly say that this painting is overrated. They just painted themselves into a corner when they gave the series that stupid snarky name.

@elijahmikhail4566 6 жыл бұрын

Bob Roman They should add a question mark to the series title as if to say, "You its overrated? Think again."

@RobertJRoman 6 жыл бұрын

Elijah Mikhail Absolutely! Very good. I hope they listen to your suggestion.

@skyx12435 6 жыл бұрын

I think the series is more about the societal context and history of famous paintings which without this knowledge might seem overrated.

@RobertJRoman 6 жыл бұрын

skyx12435 In the first episode of the series they actually called "To Kill a Mockingbird" (the book) overrated. I think that they quickly realized how puerile and peevish they would look if they continued in that direction. Hopefully they will now set their ship totally straight by adding Elijah's question mark.

@mayfly6423 4 жыл бұрын

I grew up in Iowa and I did a whole book report on Grant Wood and American Gothic. Idk why but I felt like sharing that.

@AngryKittens 6 жыл бұрын

That plain white painting is overrated. This is art.

@robertojarrin3634 6 жыл бұрын

Victor Dalloz I guarantee you a majority of people consider this art but not a blank white canvas

@libbybollinger5901 6 жыл бұрын

Victor Dalloz sure, but just because something is art, does that mean it deserves to be in a museum

@Nosirt 6 жыл бұрын

there is def. objectivity in art.

@jjc5475 6 жыл бұрын

and libby, if something is in a museum. then that doesn't mean it's art.

@andreitan8479 6 жыл бұрын

Centering Focus "Doesn't matter"

@AndrewWigley 6 жыл бұрын

Weren't you guys just defending a white canvas last week?

@blankiecat9302 6 жыл бұрын

Andrew Wigléy diffent people different ideas

@MrGoblin1000 6 жыл бұрын

MagicalMalik ether way, I think they failed and I still see the white painting movement as a scam.

@hullstar242 6 жыл бұрын

MrGoblin1000 yeah no one cares what you think though

@meercreate 6 жыл бұрын

The white painting movement is mostly a money laundering operation, nothing truly artistic.

@Tadfafty 3 жыл бұрын

@@meercreate Exactly.

@escapefromtibet2530 6 жыл бұрын

I really start to like this new format.

@user-qf6bi8zb2h 6 жыл бұрын

RushingDolphin it’s ok I guess

@user-my4kx1sy2z 6 жыл бұрын

What are yall talking about?

@franklynbrown4722 6 жыл бұрын

RushingDolphin up

@crixxxxxxxxx 4 жыл бұрын

The video doesn’t explain how the painting became visible enough to become famous.

@Iamvipaa 3 жыл бұрын

still dont know how it became famous

@jaridkeen123 6 жыл бұрын

Why is it called Gothic when it's not gothic?

@ColumineMiette 3 жыл бұрын

the window is gothic, they said. something something architecture, i guess. i know about gothic cathedrals but no other gothic architecture. and the cathedrals had the rose windows.

@skelemberry3810 3 жыл бұрын

The term "gothic" is used referring to the style of architecture rather than our modern romanticized ideas of gothic themes.

@_diegovelasquez 3 жыл бұрын

the window in the American house has been shaped within a pointed arch. this kind of arch is an innovation during the Middle Ages: Gothic.

@crixxxxxxxxx 3 жыл бұрын

The house is in the style of carpenter gothic.

@ecurewitz 3 жыл бұрын

inspired by Gothic Architecture, in the window

@hebneh 6 жыл бұрын

Unfortunately, this video does NOT explain how "American Gothic" became an icon. The iconic status occurred between 1930, when it won third prize in the contest, and the artist's death in 1942, when the models were photographed with the painting because it had become so famous. But how did that happen? No explanation.

@mareksicinski3726 5 жыл бұрын

its explained in the video lol

@metanoia3438 5 жыл бұрын

You missed the entire video

@thefloridamanofytcomments5264 4 жыл бұрын

Watch the other five minutes.

@lookbovine 3 жыл бұрын

They show THAT it is iconic not HOW it became iconic.

@Sentientmatter8 Жыл бұрын

@@lookbovine it became iconic because of the controversy surrounding whether it was serious or farcical.

@43scout74 5 жыл бұрын

I hear people say " how the hell are we going to explain meme culture to our kids?", this is how.

@jaynoxjay 6 жыл бұрын

Please do Jackson Pollock

@glossygloss472 6 жыл бұрын

My friend's aunt owns a Jackson pollock.

@hanawana 6 жыл бұрын

Woah.

@legopro53 6 жыл бұрын

"A Dab Will Do Ya"

@MsLadyAphrodite 6 жыл бұрын

HelloKittyFan 26 probably fake

@amalofoto 6 жыл бұрын

Omg I need that. Never was able to understand that guy

@rishithsinha 6 жыл бұрын

A perfect video for this series would've been on the Mona Lisa, but Vox has already covered that.

@greygalah 6 жыл бұрын

I love his self-portrait. He really was talented.

@ERS2000 6 жыл бұрын

I think the fact that it can be parodied from time to time is what keeps it relevant.

@SuperNoobProdigy 6 жыл бұрын

This guy sort of looks like ggg

@NathanDaNoob 6 жыл бұрын

Halo_ I was thinking the same thing lol

@sandersson1 6 жыл бұрын

@cass2944 6 жыл бұрын

Halo_ h

@snowman9555 6 жыл бұрын

He has that seth meyers thing going, though not as much, where the outside corners of his eyes droop down.

@egg2391 6 жыл бұрын

Halo_ what do u have against eggs

@lazyperfectionist1 6 жыл бұрын

Let's not be categorically down on small towns. The only problem they _all_ have in common is a dearth of good reading material. Bring me wi-fi and a well-stocked, fully-equipped, modern library, and there's little else I need.

@TasX 6 жыл бұрын

Bring me a good bathroom and wifi and there's little else I need

@lazyperfectionist1 6 жыл бұрын

Well, it's a pretty safe bet, if there's _people,_ there's plumbing. A well stocked _library,_ though, is more rare. Smaller towns tend not to have them.

@jprt1990 6 жыл бұрын

I used to hate small towns as a kid too, but they're not all created equal. Some are very quaint and relaxing. Small towns can have thriving art/music/lit/crafts scenes. There are interesting local attractions that small towns are sometimes built around. And as you mentioned, if the small town has access to high speed internet and is near a major highway (ie. you don't pay a fortune for the stuff you buy locally), there's really not a lot you can't get.

@joansmith69 6 жыл бұрын

Oh there's a multitude of good readers in small towns. The libraries might not be all that good, but I guarantee you there are highly intellectual smalltownsfolk that reads and reads and breathes local history, local traditions and knowledge of the local fauna and flora. Those people are very important. Small towns are great!

@dxcSOUL 6 жыл бұрын

Modernities like well stocked libraries are exactly what small towns lack, hence their backwards nature and society’s general disdain towards them.

@casecloud6294 3 жыл бұрын

People in 2120: Why Cursed Mike Wasoski Became an icon

@brookeschoen3827 4 жыл бұрын

As an Iowan, hearing you describe Cedar Rapids as a “big city” was comical 😂

@AB-jk2ff 5 жыл бұрын

I live in Australia. I'd never heard of this painting before and I found this video to be very interesting. Thank you, Vox, for telling me all about it!

@mrpurple11 6 жыл бұрын

before knowing anyting about the context of the painting I always thought that part of its genius was that the artist created something where an urban, European and architectural art style like Gothic was reinterpret it into a rural, American and modern painting

@SR-mi6jf 6 жыл бұрын

If you vox can justify a blank canvis painting then they can justify any other painting

@maritxm 6 жыл бұрын

I've never seen this painting. I must live under a rock

@spacecadet2827 6 жыл бұрын

you probably have. it just looks like one of those old grandma paintings tho and doesn't catch the attention

@cicci0salsicci0 6 жыл бұрын

It doesn't catch the attention if you don't see it in person. I've seen it at l'Orangerie in Paris last winter. It catches your eyes in the room even if you don't know what it is.

@sisterimmaculata1680 6 жыл бұрын

It's far less famous outside USA.

@Gelenvader3 6 жыл бұрын

Marit - how?

@holymosers1799 6 жыл бұрын

I'm not even American yet I very well know this painting

@majordavis4688. 4 жыл бұрын

one of my all time favorite paintings of all time.

@MarkWTK 6 жыл бұрын

now i got another interesting story to tell to my friends

@abhiabhi-xp9on 6 жыл бұрын

Me too but no one cares they think think I am crazy

@quinn5109 4 жыл бұрын

every year in my town we have this great festival, and there's this poster contest. This year's winner was a really good American Gothic parody

@hiX0N 5 жыл бұрын

Btw 300 dollars back in the 1930s was worth about $4300 today.

@demiladeolaleye8766 6 жыл бұрын

So he was a meme artist

@turbatg5759 6 жыл бұрын

the painting has this gloomy tone and it weirdly draws your attention

@ContinualImprovement 6 жыл бұрын

Okay, I've put my three time pitchfork down.

@ch0c0chipc00kie1 6 жыл бұрын

TMR Teckk tyne

@FlyToTheRain 6 жыл бұрын

I also was raised in the "big city" of Cedar Rapids lol but really, the Grant Wood exhibit at the museum is really interesting, if anyone ever found themselves passing through my hometown

@symax4921 6 жыл бұрын

In Sims 4, you can actually paint it with an easel. They made them smile on the picture :D

@newluke500 6 жыл бұрын

Importent to note this was made during The Great Depression and many historians don't see this as a wife and husband, but as a daughter and father. The Art Institute in Chicago calls them a daughter and father as well.

@MrOctavioduff 6 жыл бұрын

I LOVEEEEEE all your explained art videos

@ryanellis4474 6 жыл бұрын

The geometry of the painting is amazing.

@seanm7445 6 жыл бұрын

@2:00 Does the background music remind anyone of Desperate Housewives?

@parisyoung2591 6 жыл бұрын

Sean M it reminds me of the sims🤣🤣

@supremepancakes4388 6 жыл бұрын

Sean M sounds like Sims to me too

@ashleysfunworld8100 2 жыл бұрын

His sister didn't hate the painting. She was actually proud of it. Grant just felt guilty about it, and made another painting for his sister.

@Life_of_Matthew Жыл бұрын

An authentic American farmer, yet an artistic foreign snob. Like many other artists, he was a truly conflicted man.

@waveril5167 11 ай бұрын

All "real" Americans are foreigners, they are all Europeans

@XxCreeperKillxX 6 жыл бұрын

I love this series so much, keep it up, Vox!

@EvanZamir 6 жыл бұрын

Amazing how relevant this painting is to our time. Thanks for the art history lesson!

@palakmishra9818 5 жыл бұрын

I haven't even heard in my life what american gothic is still i watched the whole video curiously. This is what we call good production quality fellas

@MarkShaneHansen 6 жыл бұрын

Imagine a time where not only could you ask your dentist to paint him, but he'd say yes.

@Sentientmatter8 Жыл бұрын

Honestly I'm pretty sure plenty of Dentists would say yes to having their portrait done nowadays. It's pretty cool to be the subject of a painting.

@limon917 6 жыл бұрын

Flew out to Chi Town last year and saw this painting in person for the first time and never understood the popularity. Thanks again Vox for clearing things up!

@jcb3883 4 жыл бұрын

"how did a 300 dollar painting became an icon." Money laundering

@Cameron-df2vu 6 жыл бұрын

Whoa Iowa being mentioned, hype!

@danielbuettner7393 5 жыл бұрын

Great information about the painting. One thing the video doesn't mention about why it is so widely parodied, is because of (in spite of the complexities of it) the distinctive simplicity of the composition. No other painting uses such a simple and easily recognizable composition. You could probably draw the painting using three shapes and show it to someone, and they'd know exactly what painting you drew.

@geography_joe 11 ай бұрын

Same with the semi-recent ‘is this loss’ meme

@M0US3EE 4 жыл бұрын

Music sounds like I’m about to create my sim

@StickFiguresMaster Жыл бұрын

“Isn’t it just a little over rated” - understatement Back when sculptors, artisans, famous artists made The Thinker, The Scream, Poker Playing Dogs, Mona Lisa, the Mona Lisa painting and people state that Germans stole original paintings, we’re still waiting for lots of artifacts to be found Nowadays, The Statue of David, Statue of Liberty, Liberty Bell, Lincoln memorial, Washington Monument, Egyptian sarcophaguses, tombs, Burial Chambers for the Pharos, Cleo Patra, King Tut, hieroglyphics, Pottery, Great Wall off China, Statue of Liberty, Liberty Bell, Sphinx, National Monument, Benjamin Clock, Clock Tower, Indian Palaces, the UK’s castles were made to be highly detailed icons made for various places Scientists examined very old caveman Cave paintings and said some date back to mankind’s 1st years of existence Professionals tested the 1 audio tape of Adolf Hitler and Stalin and stated their really their voices

@CarnationDianthus 6 жыл бұрын

could you do edward hopper's nighthawks? its one of my favourites and as much as I love it artistically, much like with american gothic, I don't understand how it got parodied so much

@luisantolafrancis519 4 жыл бұрын

Whistler did the same with his "the mother of the artist" and he even did more he contracted a publicist to promote the painting at an exibition in París to push the goverment of france to buy the painting and put it in the Louvre and he succeeded. That plot was his másterpiece.

@MCsmileyyy 6 жыл бұрын

This is such a good series! Please keep it up!

@stevenolson2353 6 жыл бұрын

Great series. Can't wait to see more!

@minhtuenguyen4493 5 жыл бұрын

My teachers glued their faces to the painting.... it

@jennahenna45 6 жыл бұрын

Make a video about earthquakes and media coverage of them

@oceanlawnlove8109 6 жыл бұрын

eafquek

@lovelypacific 6 жыл бұрын

are you kidding they already did it two videos ago but with hurricanes

@Gee-xb7rt 6 жыл бұрын

the hurricane video was really good, btw. as someone that has worked on porous pavement projects, and given the stare down by people that would rather use the cheapest paving materials available to maximize profits instead. Houston, you did it to yourself, boo.

@yetiarbiz1057 6 жыл бұрын

I love this series! Way to go Vox!

@eekns 4 жыл бұрын

Wow! It’s provenance makes it my favorite picture. Thanks.

@PBrousse 6 жыл бұрын

$300 in 1930 = $4,211 today

@jimmyz2684 6 жыл бұрын

I think Bill Maher would be above the "booboisie" joke.

@comedianswithoutcars 6 жыл бұрын

This series is gold. More!

@Kiki-qm9jg 4 жыл бұрын

Southern gothic and just american gothic in general is so aesthetic and amazing I love it

@fridericusrex7042 5 жыл бұрын

Must have had a good relationship with his dentist

@guapo2381 6 жыл бұрын

*"We don't exist, we don't matter"-Jim Carry*

@EuropeanMapping 6 жыл бұрын

Kanye West L

@victors6062 5 жыл бұрын

In Spanish: "no somos nada"

@luisleal2501 6 жыл бұрын

I saw the original, at the art institute of Chicago something really unique

@marcelapalacios9222 6 жыл бұрын

This has become my favorite series omg

@charlesgalliard1735 6 жыл бұрын

Memes are a lot like this, therefore memes are art

@turumbitix 6 жыл бұрын

This Overrated series rushes it's arguments, nitpicks data and presents it all as the truth, not as an opinion. An example is that they try to make us think the painting was only sold for 300 dollars (and is therefore unremarkable), whereas in 1930 that was equivalent to more than 4,100 today's dollars, so probably a pretty good payday.

@WordUnheard 6 жыл бұрын

Vox is one of the best KZfaq channels that I never hear anyone talk about.

@amrob4819 6 жыл бұрын

I'm loving this series already

@coolidgedollar2154 6 жыл бұрын

Grant Wood had an extremely stout physique AND he was from Iowa; he must have been a wicked good wrestler. Anyway, nice painting.

@sophiaottinger7344 6 жыл бұрын

Last time I was this early... well I've never been this early

@HaloMG 6 жыл бұрын

modifying the look of the subtitles have made your made your videos so much more enjoyable,it's unbelievable

@sampsonerika 5 жыл бұрын

this was a very insightful video. thank you!

@amandacampo3199 5 жыл бұрын

Literally saw this painting in the Chicago Art Museum today owowowowowowowowo😂

@SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand 3 жыл бұрын

lucky

@gutspraygore 6 жыл бұрын

The appeal to me was always in the name. It *felt* subversive compared to the painting. It felt like the artist wanted me to find something that might not be so obvious by just glancing at it. I guess he was. And the time I spent analyzing the painting only to realize it was right there the whole time.

@elcamilomal 6 жыл бұрын

I think I'm going to love this series.

@beefburgess 6 жыл бұрын

This new series is going to be amazing

@shingshongshamalama 6 жыл бұрын

So it's basically the Kill La Kill of modern paintings. A self-deconstructionary-reconstruction.

@renkip3518 5 жыл бұрын

1:29 lmao totally irrelevant but can someone tell me this painting's name? Really beautiful style Edit: Lmao nevermind found it already, the painting is named Woman With A Parasol by Claude Monet