The saga of Denver International Airportap colorful, infamous public art program continues.
Last week, airport officials unveiled the latest piece commissioned as part of Denver’s 1% for Art program, which routes 1% of any municipal construction budget toward custom art for that project. Forty other site-specific art projects already adorn the airportap sprawling property.
This time itap “Luminous Wind,” a $350,000 sculpture created by artists Laura Haddad and Thomas Drugan. The 30-foot-tall piece at RTD’s 61st and Peña Station is made from “environmentally activated materials,” or 952 prismatic acrylic rods “that during the day (to) radiate out from a stainless-steel geodesic sphere set on a tripod of stainless-steel columns,” according to airport officials.
“Luminous Wind” honors the civic and aerospace innovations of former Denver mayor, U.S. Secretary of Transportation and U.S. Secretary of Energy Federico Peña, who plans to attend a formal, spring 2021 dedication of the sculpture.
鷡շ:The definitive guide to Denver International Airportap biggest conspiracy theories
“We hope it becomes that iconic piece of art because itap going to be in people’s constant viewpoint, just as ‘Mustang’ is,” said Alex Renteria, public information officer for DIA. “Itap going to be really hard to miss driving inbound on Peña (Boulevard), or riding the RTD (A-line).”
“Mustang,” the 32-foot, red-eyed, blue horse sculpture thatap been playfully nicknamed Blucifer, is one of dozens of pieces of art at DIA that have spurred alternately paranoid and playful rumors, given that it literally fell on and killed its creator, artist Luis Jiménez, during assembly in 2006.
The airport is a perennial favorite of conspiracy theorists, considering its unique and tangled history that has led some to see Illuminati, New World Order or even Nazi influences in its design and construction.
But while airport officials have for years successfully embraced some of those conspiracies as marketing tools, they weren’t expecting the reaction that “Luminous Wind” got on social media after it was unveiled Nov. 6.
“Umm, this looks like the Rona,” 9News anchor Kyle Clark tweeted to his 116,000-plus followers, before adding: “For the record, this isn’t a criticism of @DENAirport, which has awesome public art. I look forward to pointing out Bluecifer and The Rona to every person I drive to/from the airport.”
Umm, this looks like the Rona
— Kyle Clark (@KyleClark)
Other commenters seized on the comparison to the spiky, globular image of coronavirus we’ve come to know since mid-March — a.k.a. the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 particle as viewed under an electron microscope.
“Perhaps itap the spikes featured in the installation that make the resemblance uncanny to some,” wrote . “Spikes are a defining factor of the novel coronavirus, too.”
About an hour after Clark’s tweet, the satirical Facebook page City and County of Denver : “COVID-19 infected Blucifer and mutated into this ‘artwork’ at the light-rail station. We advise everyone stay at least 6 meters away or risk getting a case of Blucifer Pox.”
“When we saw the tweets about that we were a little disappointed on the one hand, because we wanted this more to speak to honoring Peña’s work and also showcasing the artists,” DIA’s Renteria said. “But on the other hand, we get it. We think itap funny, too, and we get what people think it looks like when it turns red. But it turns lots of other colors, and it was developed in 2017, pre-COVID, so there’s no conspiracy here.”
In fact, “Wind” was inspired by the grasses of the windswept plains landscape that surrounds DIA, officials said.
“Each night of the week, a different moving light show cycles through the sculpture, while holidays are marked by special colors and programs,” according to a press statement. “Additionally, the design incorporates a wind sensor that triggers an increase/decrease to the light movement, creating a barometer that visualizes and broadcasts wind patterns.”
“Especially at dusk or at night, itap brilliant with light,” Renteria added. “But itap impossible to miss during the day, due to its size. Like ‘Mustang,’ we want it to welcome travelers, employees and visitors, illuminating their way.”
Either way, itap spurring conversations and — to paraphrase Renteria and many other artists whose work is displayed at DIA — thatap what good art is supposed to do.
