As part of the STEAM Festival, my partner, Iris and I did our project on the painting “Saskia Down the Metro” by the artist Red Grooms. Doing the research for this project, I was able to dig deeper and make a better analysis for my observations based on the painting.

Taking a first look at “Saskia Down the Metro” the first thing that I noticed was the colors that they artist uses. Red Grooms picks strong, dark colors such as the use of red, greens, browns, blues and yellows. There is no blank space or white walls that are seen in the work of art. Every space is filled with a figure, or the background, or with small details that one could typically see on a subway ride. I also noticed how disoriented the figures look standing on the subway. I can tell that they are standing on a subway from the poles that everyone is trying to clutch on to and share. I noticed how each figure has a character to them that makes them different from the person standing next to them. They have different facial features, hairstyles, and skin color.

Doing more research on Red Grooms, I found that he is recognized as one of the forgers of the Pop Art Movement. He is most famously known for his painted-collage sculptures of both fictional and observed scenes. He creates colorful pop-art constructions that depict frenetic scenes of modern urban life as well as his distinctive stylization and humorous portraits of people. He finds inspiration from the scenes of New York, which is where the idea for “Saskia Down the Metro” was born. He has influenced art in so many ways from his identity as an expressionist painter in the 1950s to a radical performer in the 1960s that exploring his artwork is not only an interesting but also a valuable journey to experience.

After doing this research and creating an audio guide for this project, I was disappointed by how disorganized the STEAM festival was.My art was hung near the stage, which was an area that was far from the other projects. As aresult, no one was near our project and we were not able to present it. Additionally, I thought it was confusing how the projects were arranged and which floors had which topics. Overall, my experience at the STEAM festival was unenjoyable and I wish it could have been more organized so I could have presented my project.