The first of ten barn art projects, “Walden” and “American Gothic” was completed in 2013 by art duo the Hygienic Dress League (HDL) - also known as Steve and Dorota Coy. The two-sided mural lives on a barn on Ziel Farm, located on the corner of Stoddard and Van Dyke Road. “Walden” can be seen from the road and is meant to mimic the kind advertisements that used to appear on barn sides. Perhaps the more controversial of the two, “American Gothic” can be found on the opposite side of the barn and depicts two subjects in gas masks- a common element found in many public art pieces by the HDL. 

Art in the Public Realm: Rural Edition, sits about 250 yards off M-53, towering on a 50-ft barn that is still in use today. The front view is of a now-fading, blue-grey pigeon and the HDL logo — advertising a corporation that proudly provides no products or services. Those lucky enough to drive around back are greeted with HDL’s take on Grant Wood’s American Gothic, arguably the most spoofed piece of American art in history. Standing with pitchfork in hand are the two main characters in HDL’s ongoing narrative. On them are the gas masks that have become associated with their work.

Art in the Public Realm: Rural Edition  (2013)

Front (North Facing) : HDL Logo 

This front view depicts the blue-grey logo for the Hygienic Dress League, advertising a corporation that proudly provides no products or services. 

Back (South Facing) : American Gothic (hygienic dress league remix) 

This remake of Grant Woods famous American Gothic painting explores the relationship between large corporations, food, consumerism, and profit.

Bio: Hygienic Dress League (HDL) is an American corporation registered in 2007 by husband and wife visual artists Steve and Dorota Coy. HDL uses its status of the corporation as an art medium, serving as a platform for critiquing contradictions in contemporary society through symbolism and public interventions, ranging from fleeting projections, guerrilla marketing, video holograms, and installation art. HDL’s public interventions have appeared internationally in cities including Berlin, Germany; Montreal, Canada; Madrid, Spain; and Vannes, France, and in the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo in Bogota, Colombia.

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Location

52 Stoddard Rd, Port Austin, MI 48467