Strip Cropping (2014) is an oil-on-linen work by artist and mural consultant Thomas Agran, a Grinnell College Studio Art graduate. Based in Iowa City, Agran formerly served as Director of Public Art for the Iowa City Downtown District and now works independently while continuing to coordinate the district's public art program.
Influenced by the Midwestern landscape and its transformation through agriculture, Agran's work reflects on both the aesthetic appeal and the social, political, and environmental consequences of that change. By acknowledging the darker realities behind pastoral scenes and the unexpected beauty in industrial forms, his art reveals the hidden burdens and surprising attractions embedded in the rural landscape.