Artist John McEnroe has the distinction of creating Denver’s second-most beloved piece of public art and its second-most … misunderstood.
His “Model State,” on the atrium wall of the Colorado Convention Center, is a genuine crowd-pleaser that takes the shape of a child’s plastic model kit on steroids. Its playful forms make it almost as popular as the iconic “Blue Bear” that peeks in the building’s front window.
Just down the street at the Highland Bridge, his lumpy, red “National Velvet” obelisk gets its share of love for challenging the very nature of what public art can be. At the same time, its conspicuous homeliness elicits groans that almost match DIA’s much-maligned “Blue Mustang.”
“National Velvet” may not be a pretty child, but it’s our child, smart and precocious, and like every kid it deserves a party every once in a while. That’s the idea behind the “Big Red Street Fair” celebration set for Aug. 28, at the base of the pedestrian bridge.
The free event, thrown by the city’s Arts & Venues department with help from local merchants, maxes out the color theme. There will be red beer from the Denver Beer Company, red cupcakes from Happy Cakes, red spices from Savory Spice Shop and red dog treats the Republic of Paws. You might want to match your wardrobe, or your nails.
But the event is also a way of keeping the dialogue going around the merits of “National Velvet” overall. Whether you love it or hate, the city is inviting you to come out and look again. Feel whatever you will, Denver.
And if you are so inclined, write a haiku expressing your honest opinion. McEnroe will be on hand to read the good, the bad and the non-obscene.
McEnroe stands by his 2008 work, as does the city (as do I, for the record). His effort has been praised by critics and heckled by radio show hosts, but he wants people to see it as a “process piece,” an experiment in art-making the whole city can be part of.
“National Velvet” is made from resin and fiberglass, but its red tendrils (beans, worms, intestines, sausages?) were shaped by 10,000 pounds of sand on site. McEnroe didn’t even know what it would look like until he started putting it together. “The materials helped create the final form,” he said.
It wasn’t until late in the game that he realized the 22-foot-tall plastic shell was translucent. He added electric lights to make it glow in the dark.
The piece stands at the intersection of downtown and the Highland area and was commissioned just as Highland was taking off, transitioning from an old-city enclave to a haven for up-and-comers and empty nesters looking for the urban experience.
“The neighborhood was turning into this museumgoing, theatergoing, risk-taking kind of community,” McEnroe said.
“What other neighborhood was going to embrace something so experimental?”
Michael Chavez, who manages the city’s 300-piece art collection, suggests people approach “National Velvet” by embracing its mysteries.
“Try to get past the idea of what does it look like, because it’s not supposed to resemble any preconceived thing,” he said.
Once you stop wanting to think of it as a raspberry ice cream cone or something the butcher might throw out, you can consider its actual qualities.
“Why that color, that shape? Why is it on a pedestal? What other works of art does it resemble?” he said.
Its shape makes it a natural for its location, Chavez suggests. Obelisks have been used to mark borders between places since ancient Egypt. There are iconic obelisks in Greece, Rome, England and across the U.S.
McEnroe wants the thousands of people who pass by each day on foot or bike to appreciate it however they choose. “I think it reminds you of your humanity; this is what I am. I’m all these gooey blood cells,” he said.
But he’s not hung up on any specific interpretation. In fact, he believes the work better serves as an enigma, entertaining — and puzzling — Denverites for decades to come.
“I hope it always has some form of outsider sensation,” he said.
Ray Mark Rinaldi: 303-954-1540, rrinaldi@denverpost.com or twitter.com/rayrinaldi
BIG RED STREET FAIR Denver’s Arts & Venues department celebrates the 25th anniversary of the city’s public art collection with a party set around John McEnroe’s controversial piece, titled “National Velvet.” 6 p.m., August 28. Highland Bridge, 16th & Platte Streets. Free. 720-865-4220 or artsandvenuesdenver.com.
