Joel



Daughters of Revolution This painting by Grant Wood contains many elements that satirize American culture and the Daughters of the American Revolution. The women in the foreground of the painting appear elderly, self-satisfied, and aristocratic. One woman delicately grips a teacup, ironically painted in an Asian style. Behind them, George Washington crosses the Delaware, as portrayed by a German immigrant. Wood mocks the women, who try to initiate an aristocracy in a democratic society. By being "Daughter of the American Revolution," they inherently limit their group's membership to natural-born Americans. The elements in the painting mock this idea, and the idea that American culture is without influence from foreign countries. These proud Daughters seem to think themselves superior to those not born in the US of A, but at one point, their ancestors sailed across the Atlantic--trying to avoid aristocracy.

Narrative: My narrative is about my father's hair, relating to his hard work and aging.



I thought about this painting relating to my dad because, from a distance, the orange overpowers your eyes and you see only it on a background. But when you look closer, there are other colors, distinct from the background and from the orange. I think this relates to my dad because when I started to brainstorm for the narrative and I thought about his hair, I thought only about the superficial aspects and how we make fun of him for them. When I thought harder about it, I saw a lot of things behind his hair that are distinct parts of his character and that are as important to him as the glaringly obvious parts of him and his personality.



The mostly green vegetation of this landscape, with the obvious tints of autumn is similar to my dad because he's still young, but it's apparent that he's growing older.



This painting reminded me of my dad and my narrative for several reasons. It's part of a series of oil paintings called "Aging Superhero". Like the superhero, my dad still works hard at his job despite his advancing age. He continues to do the impossible and the mundane, and be super (if pudgy) while doing it. To be noted: my dad is definitely NOT this old.