Through the Lens: Mr. Wood's People

When photographer King Au set out to shoot his interpretation 
of the Grant Wood murals in Parks Library, he says he met 
resistance from the famous artist himself.

"I truly believed Mr. Wood's spirit was fighting me on this," 
the Des Moines artist said of his struggle to photograph the 
Wood-designed murals depicting the settling of Iowa. "I don't 
think he liked the idea of his work being photographed. Then 
I realized these people had been standing there for a long 
time. I wanted to get them together, like a reunion."

Au ('82, MS '85) eventually provided a moving series of 
close-ups of Wood's people as part of a two-year shoot of 
campus art.

His work is on display in the Brunnier Art Museum through 
July 30.

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contact:  Internal Communications, (515) 294-3129
updated:  5-25-95