ISAMU NOGUCHI

Here's some work (above and below) by one of my favorite American artists of the 1950s: Isamu Noguchi. He's a recent discovery for me. I never heard the name til Auralyn told me about him.

 

He's most famous for the boomerang coffee table (above). Are these still for sale? Imagine: a museum-quality object d'art that you can afford to have in your own living room!

These shapes (above) are drawn on a grid on paper, but it's not inconceivable that somebody's made a mass market cardboard mobile of this. I'll have to look it up.

Wow! I'd love to have a plaster copy of this (above)! That's Noguchi in the foreground.

Here's one that looks like it was influenced by Kandinsky. 

 Noguchi designed a lot of paper lanterns. Here's one that looks like a TV.

Early on the man was a realistic sculptor. Geez, the guy could do everything!

THE UNDER-RATED RED GROOMS

One of the most under-rated artists of the last half century is Red Grooms, who reached his peak in the 7os.  I didn't pay much attention to him until recently because I thought he couldn't draw, and was too sloppy. That was really stupid of me because, more than any other painter of his time, he managed to encapsulate and comment on the spirit of his age.

His life-size, walk-through subway sculptures (above) are some of the best art done anywhere in the 70s.

This (above) is a great depiction of a New York subway station! The subway car has no wall facing our side so we can see the people inside. Wearing their white disco boots, weird hair-dos, Superfly hats, etc., they calmly ride a marvel of engineering back to their homes where they can relax with  "The Beverly Hillbillies" and a TV dinner. 

Grooms was an alert to the contrasts that you find on the streets of American cities. It's a combination of exuberant and vibrant life with gritty technology and bizarre architecture.

How did grooms do it!? You can fault his drawing, but I don't think anything approaching realism could have captured the claustrophobic, funky, ugly but beautiful feeling of the urban street (above) in those times. 

Actually, I think Grooms is a good draughtsman. Two commenters, Stephen and Anonymous, said that his drawing style reminded them of Paul Cadmus (above). You could add Reginald Marsh and Robert Crumb to the list. Hans says the pictures remind him of Ralph Bakshi's style.

He frequently portrayed vast panoramas and drastic perspectives (above) on stand-up brick shapes.


Here's (above) a Grooms deli. Somehow he managed to get across how much fun it is to watch people and talk to friends in a busy, big city restaurant. He even calls our attention to the idea of vinyl padded booth seats, and formica tables which are two of the over-looked delights of modern living.  They're probably an American invention.

Here's a New York bohemian bar. Boy, does it look inviting! Grooms is accused buy his detractors of dwelling on the grotesque, but just as often his work is a love letter to the city he obviously has great affection for.

He did a lot of bookstore pictures. He wisely realized that books and ideas are two of the engines that make modern cities so much fun to live in.