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How did American Gothic get so famous?
《美国哥特式》何以如此有名？
It's two people, a house, and some sky.
不过就是画了两个人、一座房子，还有一点儿天空嘛
Isn't it a little overrated?
人们是不是有点高估这幅画了？
Just a second, just a second... put down the three-tined pitchfork.
稍安勿躁，稍安勿躁……咱们先把钢叉放一放
So, I understand that Grant Wood made an incredible painting.
我知道，格兰特·伍德创作了一幅非常了不起的画
You can see it in all the little details.
这一点从这幅画的任何一个细节都能看出来
Like how the pitchfork's lines are repeated in the house, and farmer's shirt.
比如，钢叉和房子上以及农夫衬衫上的线条的呼应
Or how there are complementary patterns in the window drapes, and the woman's dress.
又或是窗帘及老妇人衣服上的图案的呼应
The painting is technically complex.
就技巧而言，这幅画是比较复杂的
But look at this, this is what you get when you Google "American Gothic parody";
然而，如果你用谷歌搜索“American Gothic parody”，结果
Pages and pages of the exact same joke.
一页又一页的内容都在讲同一个笑话
Star Wars, Minions ... Minions.
《星球大战》，小黄人……小黄人，哈哈哈
There are so many parodies.
对这幅画的恶搞简直是太多太多了
You don't get everywhere from Rocky Horror Picture Show,"Janet"
无论是《洛基恐怖秀》，“珍妮”
to Mulan, "Not to mention they'll lose the farm"
还是《花木兰》，“家产也全得没收”，一个也不例外
with nice lines alone.
这些还只是恶搞了那些线条
These parodies happened
之所以会有这些恶搞
because there was something bigger that made this painting so famous.
是因为这幅画得以闻名于世，还有更重要的原因
And understanding the secret to American Gothic's success
了解这幅画成功的秘诀
actually helped me to appreciate it for the first time.
让终于能够欣赏这幅画，这还是第一次能欣赏这幅画
Nobody would have guessed Grant Wood's painting would be a huge success.
没有人会想到，格兰特·伍德的画会火
Born near Anamosa, Iowa, he grew up in the big city: Cedar Rapids.
他出生于爱荷华州的阿纳莫萨，但他是在大城市锡达拉皮兹长大的
But in the 1920's he frequently traveled to Europe.
然而，二十世纪二十年代他曾频繁前往欧洲旅游
Impressionism was an inspiration. So was Pointillism.
于是，他从印象主义画派汲取了灵感，点画法也不例外
Older artists influenced him too.
影响他的还有更古老的一些画家
He said Jan van Eyck's look changed his art.
他曾说，扬·凡·艾克改变了他的画
I think you can see it in these long, flat faces that Wood drew himself.
我想，这一点大家可以从伍德自己画的这些长而缺乏立体感的脸上看出来
The result of that traveling was a guy
旅行结束后，伍德变成了一个
who was half European artiste, half Iowan farm boy.
一半是欧派画家，一半是爱荷华农场小子的这么一个人
So, when Wood passed by this house in Eldon, Iowa, he saw something.
所以，当他路过爱荷华埃尔登的这座房子时，他看到了什么
Something gothic - that weird, slightly ominous window -and something American, too.
他看到了某种有点儿哥特——就是那个神秘而有点儿不吉利的窗户——还有点儿美国味儿的东西
He made sketches of the house,
他给这个房子画了素描
and enlisted his dentist, and yes, his sister, as models for the painting.
为了画这幅画，他还拉来了他的牙医和他妹妹，没错，就是他妹妹，给他当模特
There were some tweaks as the painting developed -
伍德后来给这幅画做了一些改动——
the weeds in front of the house disappeared.
房前的草没有了
The original rake became a pitchfork.
之前画的耙子也变成了一个三齿叉
Wood promised he'd elongate his sister's face
伍德还承诺把他妹妹的脸画长一点
so she wasn't recognized as the wife of this older dentist.
免得她被当成是这位老牙医的妻子
Wood completed it in 1930.
1930年，伍德完成了这幅画
That year, the painting made its way to the Chicago Art Institute, for a contest.
这一年，这幅画被收入了芝加哥美术馆参加一场比赛
But it got bronze. Third place.
但只拿到了铜牌，也就是第三名
The first mention in The New York Times was dwarfed by an ad for stomach acid medication.
《纽约时报》上关于这幅画的第一篇评论也被一个反酸药给抢了风头
Wood sold American Gothic to the museum for $300.
伍德以300美元的价格把这幅画卖给了芝加哥美术馆
That's the big question.
这样一来，问题就大了
How did a third place, $300 painting, featuring a dentist and the artist's sister, turn into an icon?
一幅只拿了铜牌，卖价300美元，画着一个牙医和画家本人妹妹的画怎么就变成一个标志了呢？
America changed a lot from 1880 to 1920.
1880年到1920年期间，美国发生了翻天覆地的变化
This chart shows all the jobs.
这个表显示了当时美国劳动力的分配情况
The big one to notice is agriculture.
最大且最引人注目的是农业
In 1880, almost half of all Americans were on the farm.
1880年，将近一半的美国人都在农场上工作
Now let's go to 1920.
接下来我们看一下1920年的情况
Agriculture went from 48% to just 25%.
从事农业的人口比例从之前的48%下降到了25%
In 1880, about 30% of Americans lived in cities.
1880年，美国有大约30%的城市居民
By 1920, it had jumped to more than half.
到了1920年，这一比例窜到了50%以上
America was split between city and country.
美国成了一个城乡两极分化的国家
In the 20's and 30's, city people started snarking.
二十世纪二三十年代，美国的城市人口开始看不起美国的乡下人
The critic H.L. Mencken is a good example.
评论家H.L.门肯就是个很好的例子
Imagine Bill Maher, but more famous with 20 extra IQ points, and less pot.
再想想彪马叔 ，但他的名气更多的来源于他的IQ比最大值还高出了20分，
Mencken called small town people the "booboisie"
门肯把小城镇的人叫作“愚民阶级”
This kind of thing was common.
这种事并不稀奇
In 1920, Main Street was a hit novel
1920年，门肯的小说《大街》走红了
that was basically about how small towns stunk.
这本书讲的基本就是小城镇有多讨厌
American Gothic was perfectly balanced for this big, nasty fight.
《美国哥特式》这幅画非常契合这一激烈的争论潮流
Some city people saw the couple as the"booboisie"
一些城里人把画上的夫妻当成是“愚民阶级"的代表
Some country people saw them as authentic Americans.
而有些乡下人则把他们当成最真实的美国人的代表
Remember that blue and black dress, (or white and gold dress) that went viral on Buzzfeed?
还记得那件在Buzzfeed上大火的蓝黑色裙子吗（也可能是白金色）
That didn't go viral because it was a great picture,
那件裙子走红并不是因为那张图有多好
it went viral because it was a great fight.
而是因为大家对它的颜色争论不休
In 1930, American Gothic wasn't that different.
1930年，《美国哥特式》的走红差不多也是一样
Grant Wood knew what he was doing.
格兰特·伍德当然知道自己是哪门哪派的
This is Grant Wood's 1935 self-portrait, Return from Bohemia.
这是1935年格兰特·伍德从波西米亚回到美国以后画的自画像
He's trying to look like a solid Iowa artist.
他努力地使自己看上去像一个不折不扣的爱荷华画家
But he was always Bohemian, too.
但他也是波西米亚画家
In 1932, Wood painted Daughters of the Revolution.
1932年，伍德画了《革命年代的女儿们》
He said it was his only satire.
他说这是他唯一一副讽刺作品
An American myth blocked by women clinking their tea cups.
一个被敲茶杯的妇女们遮住的美国神话
Or look at 1939's Parson Weems' Fable.
看看1939年Parson Weems画的Fable
It honors the story of George Washington refusing to lie about chopping down a cherry tree.
这幅画表达的是乔治·华盛顿拒绝对砍樱桃树一事撒谎的故事
Then, the curtain pulls back.
但还有一个拉开帘子
That American story is just something Parson Weems made up.
这个故事不过是Parson Weems瞎编的
Farmer, artist, real American, artistic snob, Grant Wood kept everybody guessing.
农夫、画家、真正的美国人还是假内行画家，大家始终猜不透格兰特·伍德的身份
If you think about it, his approach to art was
仔细想想，你就会发现，他的绘画风格
not that different than all those stupid parodies that try to have it both ways.
其实跟那些蹩脚的、见风使舵的恶搞没什么两样
Half the time, they are honoring the painting, and the idea of a solid American couple.
那些人一会儿对这幅画及其表达的传统美国夫妇的概念奉为圭臬
And half the time they are calling it a joke.
一会儿又说它不过是个笑话
What the satirists might not realize,
但他们可能还不知道
is that when Grant Wood painted his sister and his dentist, in front of a house in Eldon, Iowa,
格兰特·伍德把他的妹妹和牙医画在爱荷华埃尔登的这座房子前时
he was doing the same thing.
他所做的跟他们并没有什么两样
Just in case you were worried about Grant Wood's sister hating her famous portrait,
你要是担心格兰特·伍德妹妹讨厌她的这个画像，
she did convince her brother to paint another portrait,
那我告诉你吧，她确实说服他哥哥给她画了另外一张画像
that was a little more glamorous and probably a little more true to life.
这一张更迷人，很有可能也更真实
