Visions of Iowa: Arthur Geisert - Country Road ABC May 21, 2010

On today's farm, B is for barn cat, E is for erosion, G is for grinding feed, and I is for... inoculate? In 26 beautifully detailed spreads in Country Road ABC: An Illustrated Journey Through America's Farmland, the acclaimed illustrator Arthur Geisert takes readers on an intimate and often humorous journey--following Iowa County Road Y31--through the ins and outs of America's farmland. This isn't your grandfather's farm book. Sure, it features pigs, hay and other familiar symbols, but you'll also see things relevant to present-day farm communities, such as the volunteer fire department, winter afternoons spent at the local bar, and the annual Fourth of July parade through town. Along the bottom of each page is a continuous panorama, totaling 45 feet of art, depicting the yearly cycle of life on a farm. Geisert was inspired to create Country Road ABC by his neighbors in Bernard, an isolated farming community of 98 residents, located in northeast Iowa. "When I first moved to Iowa, I soon became aware that I was surrounded by people who had a firsthand experience with farming, and I wanted to make the most of their expertise," Geisert said. "At the time I was completing another project but I began to think about how I could take advantage all of the first-rate farming knowledge of my neighbors. I didn't know how to provide a framework for the information until I came up with the idea of the panorama." In creating Country Road ABC, Geisert relied on photographs, sketches and his memory; his neighbors ensured his sketches were accurate and relevant.