Harvesting & Shucking Corn 'til Sundown Rustic Landscape Painting

Walter Curlee, United States, 2009

16x20 Oil on canvas

 

Walter Curlee created this work in 2009. The artist's statement, on his website, conveys his intention of creating images that inspire recollection of simpler times.  

It is impossible to tell, aside from the title, if these men are up in the wee hours of the morning, or enjoying the day's last rays of light. Whatever time it is, they are together, working together, sharing a moment of their time together, without electronics, without other distractions, just the two of them.

The subject that strikes me about the image of this father-son duo, is all the rolling hills as visual ups and downs, exemplifying the epitome of farming life. From season to season, times may be good, or they may be bad, but the family works together, no matter what. The colors are dramatic and rich, providing real edges to the images of the piece.

The visual reality of the piece itself remains true to the thread of imagery woven all semester about the farmer performing selfless acts of service. These two men, and their third behind them near the truck, are away from the rest of their families, in this case, until sundown, as per the title of the piece. Thinking not of themselves, but the people they serve, they are out in the fields, finishing their days work with the moon and the sunset for light. The three men could represent the trinity of God the father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit, if one wanted to dig into the spiritual element that accompanies farming for a lot of people.

In the excerpt from Paul Harvey on the Ram 2014 commercial, God had everything to do with the implementation of the farmer. The selfless caretaker of the divine creation. The thread of humanity willing to sacrifice everything for the land and the other inhabitants of the greatest work of the creator.

The reality of the farm, in our current day context, centers on family, as most of the farms in America are family owned and operated, passed down from generation to generation. This image is spot on for the reality of the tradition of farming, the passing of the torch from generation to generation, the education conveyed from father to son or daughter. According to the website Thank a Farmer, "Less than 1 percent of America's farms and ranches are owned by non-family corporations. The other 99 percent are owned by individuals, family partnerships or family corporations."

The message I read in this image is that family and farming go hand in hand. The father and son working together is what the whole act comes down to. The selfless time the farmer spends handing down his knowledge and understanding of the land is priceless for the son, the worker, and every mouth that food feeds.

 

Walter Curlee. Harvesting and Shucking Corn 'til Sundown Rustic Landscape Painting Web 2009

 

Paul Harvey, The Voice of the Farmer: Paul Harvey. Web Ram: The Next Crop Project 2014

 

Thank a Farmer, Fun Facts About Farming. Web Thank A Farmer