Metro Clerk

Resolution RS2018-1457

A resolution recognizing the contributions of Nashville-born artist Red Grooms as part of “Artober” Nashville.

WHEREAS, the month of October in Nashville is “Artober,” a month-long celebration of the arts in Music City that includes hundreds of events in visual and performing arts, music, theater, dance, craft, film and more; and

WHEREAS, “Artober” presents an opportunity to recognize the artistic contributions of Nashville-born artist Charles “Red” Rogers Grooms; and

WHEREAS, Red Grooms was born on June 7, 1937 in Nashville, Tennessee and is a multimedia artist best known for colorful pop-art constructions depicting frenetic, vibrant and comical scenes of modern urban life; and

WHEREAS, as a child growing up in Nashville, Grooms found inspiration in the old weird America of the 1930s and ‘40s, when he observed traveling carnivals and vaudeville acts; and

WHEREAS, Grooms studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and then Nashville’s own Peabody College; and

WHEREAS, in 1957, following a summer in Provincetown, Massachusetts where he studied for five weeks with the modernist painter Hans Hoffman, Red Grooms moved to New York City where he befriended and exhibited with artists such as Alex Katz, Jim Dine, and Claes Oldenburg, and subsequently gained recognition for his unique take on Pop Art; and

WHEREAS, Grooms’ signature work, “Ruckus Manhattan” debuted in 1975 and was a more than 10,000 square-foot reproduction of the New York City borough that included a nearly life-size sculpture of a subway car, a metal Brooklyn Bridge, and a 30-foot-high World Trade Center; and

WHEREAS, “Ruckus Manhattan” took 21 assistants and nine months to complete, and consequently launched Red Grooms to stardom; and

WHEREAS, throughout his 60-year career, Red Grooms explored many different artistic styles such as expressionist painting, radical performance, installation art, and more recently, public art such as the “Tennessee Fox Trot Carousel” which whirled on Riverfront Park in Nashville during the late 1990s; and

WHEREAS, Red Grooms holds a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Design and is hailed as one of Nashville’s most accomplished visual artists; and

WHEREAS, Grooms’ artwork is on display in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh; and

WHEREAS, locally, a collection of Grooms’ artwork is on display at the newly opened Tennessee State Museum in an exhibit titled “Red Grooms: A Retrospective”; and

WHEREAS, currently, Red Grooms continues to produce his artwork, working out of the same studio since 1969 in the TriBeCa neighborhood of New York City; and

WHEREAS, it is fitting and proper that the Metropolitan Council recognize “Artober” and highlight the artistic contributions of Red Grooms during the month-long celebration of the arts.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:

Section 1. The Metropolitan Council hereby goes on record as recognizing “Artober Nashville” during the month of October and honors the artistic contributions of Nashville-native artist Red Grooms.

Section 2. The Metropolitan Council Office is directed to prepare a copy of this Resolution to be presented to Red Grooms.

Section 3. This Resolution shall take effect from and after its adoption, the welfare of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County requiring it.

Sponsor(s)

Mary Carolyn Roberts, Brett Withers, Davette Blalock, Colby Sledge, Erica Gilmore, Jeremy Elrod, Nancy VanReece, Mina Johnson, Jeff Syracuse, Robert Swope, Burkley Allen