His Most Famous Facility (City of Chicago) – Red Grooms
Born Charles Rogers Grooms, Red Grooms is an American multimedia artist and printmaker born on June 7, 1937. He is an eminent ‘Pop Artist’. ‘Pop Art’ was an artistic movement that began in the 1950s in the United States and reached its peak in the 1960s. Its central characters were inspired by everyday life. ‘Pop Art’ portrays wild and exciting themes of modern urban life. Red Grooms is also famous for his ‘Sculpto-Pictoramas’, a term he used for his unique work. The artist would use sculpture wire, vinyl, stretch cloth, wood, and other materials in his works, usually with various human figures. Grooms made his most famous installation, “City of Chicago”, in 1967.
Red made this famous installation together with his wife Mimi Gross, a painter. “City of Chicago” was a three-dimensional installation, depicting an ironic vision of city life, which had never been witnessed before. The localized landmarks and residents exhibiting a mixed expression of comedy, celebration and horror were portrayed with utter delicacy and perfection. Initially, the figures in this work seemed funny, which when observed with attention seemed ironic, expressing the truth of society. The mark of the “City of Chicago” were the buildings depicted in large-scale scenes, with flat figures dealing with the activities of daily living.
His most famous installation “City of Chicago” was a success and Grooms ran a cover story for “Look” magazine. This large, colorful and a ‘sculpto-pictorama’ was a milestone of its kind in the field of ‘Installation Art’. “City of Chicago” was first exhibited at Frumkin Gallery, California. The installation now graces the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, USA.
Grooms ‘famous’ other ‘sculpto-pictorama’ apart from the ‘City of Chicago’ was ‘Ruckus Manhattan’ (1975), which beautifully depicted people strolling with the entertaining scenes of Lower Manhattan, from Wall Street to Chelsea . Red continued to paint scenes inspired by New York City. In the late 1980s and 1990s, he dedicatedly painted ‘New York Stories’. It was a series of paintings and sculptures that showed the life of the city. His other most famous work is ‘Ruckus Rodeo’. In all of these works, Red proceeds from Manhattan to Fifth Avenue, while portraying the Statue of Liberty, Saks, the Rockefeller Center skating rink, and also St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Overall, the “City of Chicago” and “Ruckus Manhattan” were the critically important highlights in Groom’s career. All of Red’s most famous works, including the “City of Chicago,” had raging colors and concepts, portrayed through different mediums. His works were inspired by the busy and diverse active life in different parts of the United States. Red Grooms portrayed these concepts with sarcastic and humorous taste. The artist continues to inspire younger generations, eager to exploit their talents.