Friday, June 11, 2010

Denver Art

I recently returned from Colorado where I had several excellent visual experiences. My brother, Peter, and my nephew, Mark, guided me to some wonderful art and an interesting film. We saw, "Exit Through the Gift Shop". It's a documentary about street art and much more than that. It features some well known types like Banksy and Fairie but the main character is a guy with an obsession. He video tapes his life yet never looks at his tapes. There is a message to this flick and it has to do with the contemporary art market. Wait until the end and you will get it. I enjoyed it especially because I shared it with Mark, a young designer, who just earned his college degree. It was showing at the Mayan Theater on Broadway. This is a great little venue for indie films with interesting decor inside. I recommend seeing them both. As for street art, I enjoyed the early graffiti found in New York City during the 70's more than what is featured in this film. Some of that graffiti could be quite painterly without being pretentious. There is some excellent street art around the world today but I just don't remember seeing much of it in this film.

Denver has made a major commitment to contemporary art, especially outdoor monumental sculpture. To see two of my favorites go to the Denver At Museum and the Hamilton Building designed by Daniel Libeskind. Outside in Martin Plaza you will find "Big Sweep" by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, then look up across the street. You will see "The Shootout" by Red Grooms. The Hamilton Building is striking from the street and can be quite disorienting inside. It must be a tremendous challenge for the museum staff to mount pictures. My favorite sculpture inside is "Floating Man" by Anthony Gormley.

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