Walking on the 3rd floor of Plaster Hall, many Missouri Southern students and faculty might be surprised to see a different kind of decoration hanging in the halls.

Along the walls of Plaster are several reproductions of Grant Wood’s “American Gothic.” Missouri Southern art department sponsors Art League, an organization for any student who is interested in art.

Together, some Art League students teamed up to create their own versions of “American Gothic.”

“The idea was to get the students working together on the same theme,” said Josie Mai, organizer of Art League.

After the “Mona Lisa,” “American Gothic” is one of the worlds most recognized paintings. The painting portrays a framer with his pitchfork and his daughter standing in front of a farmhouse. It is also one the world’s most parodied paintings.

“We choose this particular painting because we thought it would be familiar to this region,” Mai said. “It is a well-known painting depicting a rural lifestyle that is familiar to Joplin residents.”

Students used their own interpretations of “American Gothic” to create their own versions of the painting. Students used different styles of media, and they even used different models, to create their reproductions.

Brad Kleindl, dean of business administration, also bought the set of “American Gothic” paintings from Art League.

Previously, Kleindl had approached Art League before to make their other collaborative artwork “Technology and the Globe.”

For more information on the art department, visit the link from the University Web site.