Demon Horse hits the big town news

The Demon Horse at DIA has made the New York Times.

A statue of a giant male horse — electric-eyed, cobalt blue and anatomically correct — was installed in February 2008 on the roadway approach to the terminal, and it is freaking more than a few people out.

Haters of this work say that “Blue Mustang,” as it is formally known, by the artist Luis Jiménez (killed in 2006 when a section of the 9,000-pound fiberglass statue fell on him during construction), is frightening, or cursed by its role in Mr. Jiménez’s death, or both. Supporters say the 32-foot-tall horse is a triumph, if only as a declaration of Denver’s courage to go beyond easy-listening-style airport art that many cities use like visual Dramamine to soothe travelers’ nerves.

Love it or loathe it, though, “Blue Mustang” is doing what art is supposed to do — get attention. There’s even a poetry slam planned in Denver to read horse haikus, of which about 250 have been composed, believe it or not.

A few elements from story that I didn’t know.

1. “The statue was paid for by developers who are required to contribute 1 percent of the cost of major capital projects to public art.” So, good, no (direct) tax dollars involved.
2. “The original design called for a pull-off from the airport road, with benches and ample room to contemplate the statue from all angles. After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, however, the parking area idea was shelved for security reasons.” I don’t think that would helped. And, um, people only pull off the airport road to wait for their arriving parties, so it wasn’t a very practical idea, anyway.
3. “City policy holds that public art pieces are left in place for five years, anyway, and officials have given no sign of budging.” That’s probably a wise policy, all things considered, even if it means problematic art remains in place too long. Familiarity can breed contentment.

That all said, I think the psycho-babble about the piece — “a declaration of Denver’s courage to go beyond easy-listening-style airport art” … “Is ‘Blue Mustang’ an echo of the city’s high-plains bronco-busting past? Or a mocking denunciation of the Old West conventions?” … “Quality works of public art are not the works that are completely gentle” … “The barriers to approach, artists and art critics say, have compounded the piece’s troubles, making it seem even more forbidding by virtue of isolation” — misses the point. It’s just ugly.

Your (air) Mileage May Vary, of course.