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Other Art Tourist columns:
  1. A novice Art Tourist in Paris (AT in Paris 1)
  2. Sante Fe with the Art Tourist
  3. Art Tourist in Paris 2
  4. Art Tourist in Paris 3
 
 

 

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Denver Airport Art

Art Tourist returns to Denver,

Landing in the one-time largest public art project in America

DENVER — Getting off a plane at Denver International Airport, an Art Tourist may be haunted by evidence of artist-elves at work. There are fossils in the floors of Concourse A; big folded-paper airplanes hover above riders ascending escalators from the trains underground level to the main terminal.

Above the train line, is the hub of a concourse, with wings of gates extending to each side. In these hubs are big sculptures any Art Tourist would be hard pressed to miss. These are busy sculptures that fit the mood of frantic travelers worried about missing their plane or connection, or nervous about wasting time waiting for the plane, or harried at having allowed too much time in order not to be frantic.

This last one, the over-early Art Tourist, can take a train ride to the concourses they were not planning to visit during this flight, and look at the sculptures — a busy ode to transporation, a movie set style Mayan ruin and a naturalistic canopy of color.

While on the train this Art Tourist, returning from a long trip on the other side of the planet, was as giddy as a child on a first trip. Seeing the dark train tunnel light up with a series of whirly-gig sculptures activated by the movement of the train, and then hearing Colorado voices. When any traveler exits the train or waits for one to come, Colorado voices, I recognize, announce the next actions of the train. “Train arriving at Concours A,” says Raynelda Muse, a long-time Denver newscaster, or “Doors closing,” says Pete Smythe, a voice that embodies cowboys and campfires and was the state’s Walter Cronkite throughout the ‘50s. Thanks to sound artist Jim Green, everyone gets a very Western 'howdy' or a personal “Welcome Home.”

In the terminal, the Art Tourist will have the opportunity to see the balustrade by Boulder’s grand dame of ceramic sculpture, Betty Woodman. If you’ve seen one Woodman, well, you’ll recognize these.

One of the most interesting pieces at the airport is on a hallway that separates the West and East Terminals. It's all about travel in the 50s, a photo montage with humor. This is not a hallway one would usually traverse, so finding it may take some Art Tourist dedication.

Excuse me, what’s your favorite sculpture in the airport? You didn’t know there were sculptures at the airport?

Is this airport information? Do you have a catalogue of the artwork in the building? Oh, you ran out of these several years ago. Thank you.

Being in the know as we are, we Art Tourists, we have sought out and seen, and have been totally stimulated by the artwork at the airport, and the only job left was to be totally critical of the show installed along the long pedestrian walkway to Concourse A. This month, the show was pictures of famous Indians - ho hum, we’ve seen these same portraits in every book on the West.

Are we, the Art Tourists, yet salivating at the prospect of seeing more contemporary art in Denver outside the white dome of the terminals? Surprise — at the "Welcome to DIA — Jepson Terminal" sign, the Art Tourist is not confronted with the giant fiberglass and gleaming auto body painted Mustang sculpture commissioned from Sante Fe artist Luis Jimenez — it's not there, yet.


The city offers a small contemporary museum; a city-run, fine-art museum designed by Geo Ponte, an addition in progress imagined by the architect who also won the competition for the re-do at the World Trade Center, and a Robert Graves designed public library, but sadly too few funds to have any intelligent shows inside the art museum. For contemporary art, visit south Broadway — Rule Gallery or LoDo — Robischon.

Many Art Tourists we never leave the airport, make a connection instead, and may be happily transported to a land of more and better art unless they are destined for Salt Lake City, the real, not virtual, wastland of modern art. (See Art Tourist at the Olympics).

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