RipOff Artists “Stick It” to American Gothic

“All the really good ideas I’d ever had came to me while I was milking a cow,” declared Grant Wood whose American Gothic painting of the dour-faced pitchfork wielding farmer and his sister is famous worldwide.  Wood’s masterpiece became a national symbol; a vision of hope during the Depression that still resonates today. “Because American Gothic is so iconic, it was the perfect mark for this year’s RipOff challenge,” raves fiber artist, Terry Irvine.

This July the RipOff Artists stick it to American Gothic at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre in Oliver, BC. This multi-media collective includes artists working in fibre (quilting, felting, weaving), photography, mixed media collage, oils and acrylics, 3-D installations, and encaustic (hot beeswax).  For the fifth year in a row, this nefarious group has dared to take on the grand masters of art. To mark such an auspicious occasion, they added a twist to the proceedings. Each artist has chosen another artist through which to interpret American Gothic. It’s double the ripoff and double the fun!

The public is welcome to watch the RipOff Artists assume the styles of  Picasso, Klimt, and Degas, along with seven other famous artists, and reinterpret Wood.  

American Gothic Challenge
Monday July 4 – Saturday July 9
Opening Reception:
Monday July 4, 
6 – 8 pm
Daily Hours:
Tuesday July 5 – Saturday July 9
9 am to 3 pm 

You are encouraged to come frequently during the week to get a true sense of how their artwork progresses from rough idea to finished creation.  Be sure to see the completed project on the Saturday! It will be left to you to decide: Is Wood’s masterpiece a celebration of America’s stoic determination during the Depression? Or is the finished product a critique of those same American values? Come view the action and decide for yourself.

Incidentally, the treasures from the four previous “RipOff raids” are currently on display at Leir House Cultural Centre in Penticton until June 23. You can view their “stolen” interpretations of Gustav Klimt’s Emilie Floge, Goergia O’Keeffe’s Pink Tulip, Van Gogh’s Wheatfield with Cypresses, and Lawren Harris’ Mount Lefroy in a variety of artistic media.

For more information about the RipOff Artists, click on their link under “Member Groups” in the column at right.  Or use the search bar on our website (type in “RipOffs”) for photos and articles from their past shows.

RipOff Artists "Stick It" to American Gothic

“All the really good ideas I’d ever had came to me while I was milking a cow,” declared Grant Wood whose American Gothic painting of the dour-faced pitchfork wielding farmer and his sister is famous worldwide.  Wood’s masterpiece became a national symbol; a vision of hope during the Depression that still resonates today. “Because American Gothic is so iconic, it was the perfect mark for this year’s RipOff challenge,” raves fiber artist, Terry Irvine.

This July the RipOff Artists stick it to American Gothic at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre in Oliver, BC. This multi-media collective includes artists working in fibre (quilting, felting, weaving), photography, mixed media collage, oils and acrylics, 3-D installations, and encaustic (hot beeswax).  For the fifth year in a row, this nefarious group has dared to take on the grand masters of art. To mark such an auspicious occasion, they added a twist to the proceedings. Each artist has chosen another artist through which to interpret American Gothic. It’s double the ripoff and double the fun!

The public is welcome to watch the RipOff Artists assume the styles of  Picasso, Klimt, and Degas, along with seven other famous artists, and reinterpret Wood.  

American Gothic Challenge
Monday July 4 – Saturday July 9
Opening Reception:
Monday July 4, 
6 – 8 pm
Daily Hours:
Tuesday July 5 – Saturday July 9
9 am to 3 pm 

You are encouraged to come frequently during the week to get a true sense of how their artwork progresses from rough idea to finished creation.  Be sure to see the completed project on the Saturday! It will be left to you to decide: Is Wood’s masterpiece a celebration of America’s stoic determination during the Depression? Or is the finished product a critique of those same American values? Come view the action and decide for yourself.

Incidentally, the treasures from the four previous “RipOff raids” are currently on display at Leir House Cultural Centre in Penticton until June 23. You can view their “stolen” interpretations of Gustav Klimt’s Emilie Floge, Goergia O’Keeffe’s Pink Tulip, Van Gogh’s Wheatfield with Cypresses, and Lawren Harris’ Mount Lefroy in a variety of artistic media.

For more information about the RipOff Artists, click on their link under “Member Groups” in the column at right.  Or use the search bar on our website (type in “RipOffs”) for photos and articles from their past shows.

RipOff Artists make it official

It’s official: the RipOff Artists are the newest group to join the Oliver Community Arts Council. In their own words, the RipOff Artists are “a group of talented artists in many media who join forces every summer to interpret a masterpiece by a famous artist in their own way, to learn new skills and have a lot of fun. ” Pictured at left, they are: Terry Irvine (fibre), Kurt Hutterli (3D, found objects), Barb Levant (weaving), Thea Haubrich (encaustic), Enid Baker (fine art, quilting), JoAnn Turner (fine art on objects), Marion Trimble (fine art, collage, mixed media),  Russell Work (photography) and — not pictured — Dianne Birnie (quilting).

Nearly all its members have also been  individual members of the council, with a few serving as executive officers of the OCAC over the years. All this had given the group a long and affectionate association with the council. Group status, however, confers added benefits to the collective.  The group is now able to apply to the OCAC for financial aid (a “contracted service agreement”) for any public event such as a workshop, performance, class, or exhibit, which reflects the mandates of the arts council.  The group also benefits from publicity (like this!).

Need to catch up on all four of the RipOff challenges over the years? Missed any of the following exhibits: Wheatfield with Cypresses by Vincent van Gogh (2007), Emilie Floge by Gustav Klimt (2008), Pink Tulip by Georgia O’Keeffe (2009), or Mount Lefroy by Lawren Harris (2010)?  You can see them all at once at the

RipOff Retrospective
May 12 – June 23, 2011
Leir House, Penticton, BC
Opening reception: May 12, 7 – 9 p.m.

The RipOffs have chosen their fifth annual challenge: American Gothic by Grant Wood.  You know it: the dour looking farmer with a pitchfork and his spinster daughter in an apron (not a couple, as many assume). The title of the painting refers to the architecture of the farmhouse behind them:  a gothic style window is visible in the second storey.  The image is iconic, and much parodied, so it will indeed be a challenge for these nine creative people to really “stick it to Wood” as the RipOffs say on their website.  watch them in action during the

Fifth RipOff Challenge!
“American Gothic” by Grant Wood
July 4 – July 9, 2011
Quail’s Nest Art Centre, Oliver, BC
Opening reception: July 4, 6 – 8 PM

Take a look at the wonderful retrospective of their art at their very own website:  http://www.ripoffartists.ca/index.html