RUCKUS Neighborhoods.

We usually associate the name Red Grooms with larger than life character sculptures called "sculptor-pictoramas" painted to reflect the character and personality of the people inside large cities. The following lesson, incorporating concepts in art and social studies, is especially appropriate for upper elementary level children who learn about Grooms's work by incorporating his application of exaggeration and distortion of facial features depicted on the faces of city dwellers.

The Art of Red Grooms

The teacher first describes Grooms's sculptural collages by combining painting and sculpture. The students are shown examples of two city sculptor-pictoramas--The City of Chicago and Ruckus Manhattan.

A discussion revolves around Grooms's approach to his work, noting the following points: (1) he is more concerned with representing people's psychology than making people look good; (2) the idea is the most important element; (3) he isn't concerned about the way the finished piece looks; (4) spontaneity gives each piece a feeling of vitality and life; and (5) he often mixes small objects with life-sized ones to heighten the sense of urban chaos and confusion.

This project is a good combination of social studies and art. The two works by Grooms raise issues about the social, economic, and cultural components of urbanization.

Create Your Own Ruckus

To create your own "ruckus" based upon the town that your students live in, small groups of students need the following materials: a roll of masking tape, plenty of newspaper, cardboard milk cartons, corrugated cardboard, aluminum foil, a large bowl, and five pounds of wheat paste flour. In addition, you will need an assortment of colors of tempera paint, brushes, assorted colors of yarn, and glue.

Get To Know Your Town

Ask students questions relative to their own city or town. What are the important characteristics of our city? Are there unique attributes? What are the landmarks and sight seeing attractions within our city? Can students identify which parts of our city are the oldest? Newest? And to touch on geography, what are the land features of the region? What ethnic/cultural (types of)people live in our city? What parts of our city have more economically sound areas and economically depressed areas? Why is that (are there socioeconomic explanations)?

The students are asked to name several parts of their community. The teacher records these on the board. Each group of three or four students is asked to choose one of these to create in their sculpture. Be sure each group of students chooses a different part of your town. Set up work areas by covering all working surfaces and the floor with newspaper or drop cloths.

Building a City

Ask students to create their part of the city by representing it three-dimensionally, emphasizing the character of the personalities in a cartoon-like manner as well as mixing sizes of objects to heighten the feeling of that part of town. Students create buildings, fixtures, people, and transportation using masking tape, cardboard cartons, aluminum foil, and wads of newspaper as armatures.

Apply papier-mache over the armature by using strips of newspaper dipped in the flour and water mixture. Paste these figures onto the large corrugated cardboard. The fixtures and pieces need to be securely placed for proper drying.

Adding Life to Your City

Allow at least one to two days for the pieces to dry before painting with tempera. Attention to detail is important here. The expression on people's faces and the texture of fixtures can be represented with a cartoon-like quality. Students may use black markers for fine detail. Details can also be added with yarn.

Students place their parts in the geographically correct area of the town, placing the pieces of cardboard close together. A space in the center of the classroom on the floor provides the best and most effective viewing. As a culminating activity the city in its entirety can be offered for display at the library, mayor's office, or city administrator's office.

Through this lesson, students learn to appreciate the interaction of people and town properties throughout the city and its cultural diversity, while they study about the noted artist, Red Grooms. They learn to apply a creative process and sculpture technique similar to that used by Red Grooms thus increasing their understanding of his art and gaining insights into the community where they live.

NATIONAL STANDARD

Students use subjects, themes, and symbols that demonstrate knowledge of contents, values, and aesthetics that communicate intended meaning in artworks.

Dianne Turner and Patricia M. Folkerth are professors in the teacher education department at California State University in Bakersfield, California.