{"id":14010,"date":"2009-03-04T08:54:02","date_gmt":"2009-03-04T15:54:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/?p=14010"},"modified":"2009-03-04T12:13:46","modified_gmt":"2009-03-04T19:13:46","slug":"demon-horse-hits-the-big-town-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2009\/03\/04\/demon-horse-hits-the-big-town-news.html","title":{"rendered":"Demon Horse hits the big town news"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Demon<\/a> Horse<\/a> at DIA has made the New York Times<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

A statue of a giant male horse \u2014 electric-eyed, cobalt blue and anatomically correct \u2014 was installed in February 2008 on the roadway approach to the terminal, and it is freaking more than a few people out.<\/p>\n

Haters of this work say that \u201cBlue Mustang,\u201d as it is formally known, by the artist Luis Jim\u00e9nez (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. Jim\u00e9nez\u2019s death, or both. Supporters say the 32-foot-tall horse is a triumph, if only as a declaration of Denver\u2019s courage to go beyond easy-listening-style airport art that many cities use like visual Dramamine to soothe travelers\u2019 nerves.<\/p>\n

Love it or loathe it, though, \u201cBlue Mustang\u201d is doing what art is supposed to do \u2014 get attention. There\u2019s even a poetry slam planned in Denver to read horse haikus, of which about 250 have been composed, believe it or not.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A few elements from story that I didn’t know.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n
    “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. <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
  2. \n
    “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. <\/div>\n<\/li>\n
  3. \n
    “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. <\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    That all said, I think the psycho-babble about the piece — “a declaration of Denver\u2019s courage to go beyond easy-listening-style airport art” … “Is ‘Blue Mustang’ an echo of the city\u2019s 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\u2019s troubles, making it seem even more forbidding by virtue of isolation” — misses the point. It’s just ugly.<\/p>\n

    Your (air) Mileage May Vary, of course.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The Demon Horse at DIA has made the New York Times. A statue of a giant male horse \u2014 electric-eyed, cobalt blue and anatomically correct \u2014 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 \u201cBlue Mustang,\u201d … Continue reading “Demon Horse hits the big town news”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[66,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media-art","category-travel"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13276,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2009\/01\/31\/demon_horse_revisited.html","url_meta":{"origin":14010,"position":0},"title":"Demon Horse revisited","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 31-Jan-09 6:52pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Evidently, there's a grass roots effort to do something about the hideous Demon Horse of Denver. Rachel Hultin wants to see the huge blue statue with its red glaring...","rel":"","context":"In "Fine Art"","block_context":{"text":"Fine Art","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/media\/media-art"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32366,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/02\/01\/the-end-of-the-demon-horse-of-denver.html","url_meta":{"origin":14010,"position":1},"title":"The End of the Demon Horse of Denver?","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 1-Feb-13 8:37am","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Mustang\" is reaching the 5-year point, at which time folks can petition for it to be removed. \u00a0While the statue has grown on me slightly as a familiar (if still ugly) sight, not to mention a Pavlovian trigger for full-vehicle renditions of the \"Bad Horse\" chorus, I wouldn't mind seeing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17614,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2010\/06\/14\/ominous.html","url_meta":{"origin":14010,"position":2},"title":"Ominous","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 14-Jun-10 8:50am","format":false,"excerpt":"Not quite sure why there's now a statue of Anubis outside of DIA (south end of the terminal). Keeping the Demon Horse company?","rel":"","context":"With 5 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 5 comments","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2010\/06\/14\/ominous.html#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24279,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/12\/06\/colbert-the-demon-horse-of-denver-phallic-imagery-and-you.html","url_meta":{"origin":14010,"position":3},"title":"Colbert, the Demon Horse of Denver, Phallic Imagery, and YOU!","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 6-Dec-11 5:50pm","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm going to name my first child after Stephen Colbert. Okay, I'm going to rename my first child after Stephen Colbert. Oh, never mind, I'll just make my first child watch Stephen Colbert YouTube videos. When she's older. With William Tapley, everyone's favorite Third Eagle of the Apocalypse!","rel":"","context":"In "Fine Art"","block_context":{"text":"Fine Art","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/media\/media-art"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12227,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2008\/06\/20\/night_mare.html","url_meta":{"origin":14010,"position":4},"title":"Night mare","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 20-Jun-08 7:42am","format":false,"excerpt":"In case you were wondering about the comments regarding the Demon Horse of Denver ... here's what we're talking about. DIA corrals mane attraction : Updates : The Rocky Mountain...","rel":"","context":"In "Fine Art"","block_context":{"text":"Fine Art","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/media\/media-art"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/images\/demon-horse3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":33842,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/05\/16\/airport-art.html","url_meta":{"origin":14010,"position":5},"title":"Airport Art","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 16-May-13 9:21pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Neat article on the art being proposed for purchase during the DIA light rail \/ hotel expansion.\u00a0'The purchase is part of a massive art buy, totaling $5.2 million, mandated by rules that require 1 percent of the construction budgets of major city projects go toward art. The set-aside, common to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14010\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}