Comparison and Contrast

  

Created just five years apart, these works relate in time as well as subject. On top, the painting American Gothic, by the Iowan Grant Wood (1892-1942), depicts farmers in 1930, before the Great Depression was fully under way. On the bottom, the photograph Rural Rehabilitation Client, by the Lithuanian-born New Jerseyan Ben Shahn (1899-1969),  depicts recipients of a federal aid program in Arkansas in 1935, at the Depression's low point. Closely examine the people in each image (clothes, postures, expressions) and their settings. What striking and not-so-striking similarities do you notice? What is the most obvious difference? What are some more subtle differences? What does the medium of each work (painting versus photography) contribute to the differences? How would you summarize the visions of rural folk conveyed by Wood and Shahn?

Some of the things I notice in both of these visuals, is that the top painting is in great shape before the Depression, and the bottom one, not so much. Their clothes are nice, neat, and clean in the top painting, and the bottom photo is grungy. They look depressed in the bottom, hence the Great Depression. The older couple stands proud and tall, whereas the younger couple slouch. They obviously have suffered way more than the old man and woman. The colors of the top panting are bright and alive. The other, is dark and dirty. I think Wood wanted to show that some had it good, whereas Shahn wanted to show how badly others had it.