America the ARTiful: A Coast to Coast Guide to Finding Art You Love

Whether you live in a red state, a blue state or a purple state, chances are your part of the country has a great artistic legacy. And it might be one you’ve never explored! This month, Art.com is featuring works from their Americana collection. We’ve delved in and chosen a few of our favorites. 

First, a little digression. We’ve ordered from Art.com in the past, and I came away impressed with the quality of their framing. Turns out everything you order is custom framed in a little town called Lockbourne, Ohio. Check out this video to learn more:

Now on to our picks:

1. Untitled Print by Keith Haring

Sometimes art is more about meaning than appearance. This one’s a good example. At first glance it looks a little like clip art from your favorite word processing program. But Keith Haring’s story and social activism belies the piece’s simplicity. In two weeks our state (MN) will be voting on a constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage. We’ll be voting against it. To learn more (and find out what you can do to support equal rights in your own state), go to Minnesota United for All Families. 

 

2. Chicago Print by Line Posters

Chicago is Minneapolis’s big sister city. We think of the Twin Cities as the metropolis of the ‘upper midwest’, meaning, ‘not as big as Chicago’. When Alicia and I got engaged, we took a weekend trip to the Windy City for deep dish pizza, a baseball game at Wrigley, and a night of classical music at Millenium Park. Highly recommended.

 

3. Broadway Boogie Woogie by Piet Mondrian

Speaking of metropolises. Metropoli? Anyway, speaking of big cities, wheather you like musicals or not, there’s nothing like the lights on Broadway. We love this modern, abstract print; it reminds us of the city that never sleeps.

 

4. Farmer Plowing with a Tractor on an Iowa Farm by Gordon Parks

Before he directed Shaft!, Gordon Parks was a prolific documentary photographer with roots in St. Paul (my hometown!) where he got his start shooting fashion assignments for a women’s clothing store. This shot is familiar to anyone who’s ever been around a farm at harvest time. You can practically see the winter cold coming in.

To see more of our art favorites, check out our Pinterest board: http://pinterest.com/curbly/art/, and don’t forget to share your own selections in the comments.

 

 

This blog post was sponsored by Art.com. However, all opinions are my own.