PxlDan
A hodgepodge of creative endeavors
A while back I had written a post about public art in Denver in response to Loveland's excellent public arts program and their response to the Kristen Kokkin sculpture called "Triangle". The post "The most reviled object in the local art world" looked at some of the more controversial public sculptures around town. Well now there's a new one to add to the list. Last night I was driving to the airport after dark to pick up a friend and was greeted by a 32 foot demon horse rearing above a hill overlooking Pena Blvd. where visitors turned to approach the airport. The sculpture is dramatically lit from below hinting at it's icy blue, zombie corpse skin. But most offsetting is the illuminated red eyes. It really is offsetting. Not the omen that jittery would be fliers are hoping to see. I had forgotten all about the Jimenez sculture and wasn't aware it was even delivered. The Artist is (was) the well know sculptor Luis Jimenez. The work was contracted by the airport when it opened in 1995 and was already controversial because it was already 11 years late and ran way over budget. The artist was originally to be paid $300,000 and the project resulted in a lawsuit when the city demanded delivery. But here's the kicker - While resuming work on the mustang ( I believe in his New Mexico studio?) the piece actually fell on the artist, killing him by severing an artery. So is this to become the Legacy piece. In the light of a post 9/11 world, the emotions stirred by the juxtaposition of this sculpture outside of Denver International Airport is probably not what the artist intended. But it should be the most popular airport come Halloween. (photo from Denver Post article where there are also some grumpy forum posts.)
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