American Gothic

I promised you that I would find creative inspiration yesterday and I did. I made a brief stop at the Des Moines Art Center and left refreshed and with my faith in culture re-affirmed. The Art Center has a surprisingly wonderful collection of mostly modern art with a few classics thrown in for balance. It features Georgia O'Keeffe, Henri Matisse, Edward Hopper with sculpures by Claus Oldenburg and Alexander Calder.

The building itself is famous as it was designed by 3 of the 20th century's most famous architects, Eliel Saarinen, I.M. Pei and Richard Meier. It sits surrounded by a lovely park on the south and by sculptures around the front.


Every time I visit I ask myself why I don't do this more often. I always come away feeling inspired by the art and soothed by the spaces that house it. This weekend, however, I had a specific goal in mind. The Center is currently hosting an exhibition entitled "After Many Springs: Regionalism, Modernism and the Midwest" And on display is a real classic: American Gothic by Grant Wood.


While this is a painting of Iowa by an Iowa artist, it's current home is in The Art Institute of Chicago. It seems that I'm not the only Iowan who felt compelled to visit this famous painting during its exhibit run. I actually had to stand in line for over 20 minutes until it was my turn to look at it! What a change from my normal visits to the Art Center when there have only been a handful of people enjoying the art. Like most art, this painting is much better viewed in person. The detail is amazing...there are lace curtains at the arched window, lovely sprigs of flowers on the woman's dress and potted plants on the porch...all difficult to see in a photo. The other paintings and photographs in the exhibit were equally as interesting with Thomas Hart Benton, Jackson Pollock, and Dorothea Lange among the featured artists. I hope to make another visit before the exhibit moves on at the end of the month.