Urban Nature

Saturday afternoon I drove over to the Denver Botanic Gardens for the first time. It was a such a nice afternoon, sun shining, not too hot. And 4 weddings were taking place throughout the gardens. Not only are the grounds vast, but truly educational. I'm hoping my $10.50 will go towards some improvements in the "children's secret path" as it seemed a little worse for the ware.

The Botanic Gardens are a must see destination this summer. Everything is in bloom, and looking gorgeous. I got a nice little education on succulents, and dry land mesa species.

"Urban Nature" is up until Nov. 30th. I had seen many banners throughout downtown, advertising the show. But I admit I wasn't sure what to expect, as the advertisements are deceiving. Throughout the garden are large panels on posts that were painted by National and local street artists. The peacock feather painting on the right side at the main entrance is to drool for. I want it on my brick wall in my future home. I applaud the leadership at the Gardens by creating an unexpected temporary home for graffiti artists paintings. Local artist, Amanda Marie, pictured above, has some fantastic collage paint work in the gardens.

Don't believe the city banners; it's not just more plants, it's a whole garden of art mixed with manicured nature.

Gee's Bend

Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt at the Denver Art Museum, surprises and delights.

This last Saturday, some of the quilters came to Denver all the way from Alabama for a day of gallery sitting and sample sewing.

The show is a wonderful survey of quilts from Gee's Bend, Alabama, one of the poorest areas in the country. The quilters have become somewhat celebrities in the last couple years, with their work featured on US postage stamps, and sewing with Martha Stewart and other celebrities. The exhibit is a wonderful survey, from the faded blue work shirts in the beginning, to the more modern experimental quilts at the end. Corduroy is big in this show, showcasing the 70's Sears avocado green color. There are some nice surprises, like the double white cross of basketball jerseys, as shown above. I was also surprised to find a beautiful aqua colored fabric incorporated into some of the quilts in the back room. Not one quilt is perfectly square, high-lighting the handmade quality of the work. The exhibit inspired me to go home and rip up old stained t-shirts and search through C's closet for thread worn clothes (not a difficult task). The show is up until July 6th, and shouldn't be missed.

Travels

As the design of Milton Glaser succinctly states, I really do love New York City. Memorial Day weekend provided a great get-away and indulgent art viewing trip. Unfortunately, the Whitney Biennial was incredibly disappointing, but the Met's Superhero show redeemed the trip for us.

The Whitney Biennial, like most critics (note Times review here) and friends had relayed was incredibly disappointing: small sample of artists, not a lot of new thought nor technique, and too much poor quality of craft.

Jedediah Caesar, was the only artist worth mentioning for his large styrene block of dripped resins, and the cube of resin trash, sliced and displayed like shiny marble counter tops in renovated kitchens.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Superhero show at the Met, although it also was incredibly too short and small of a show. Linda Carter's costume, with now faded to purple costume, was incredible, and hard not to get incredibly nostalgic.

The Met did a nice job placing the super hero TV/movie costume center stage, with dramatic cityscape backgrounds. Then fashion designer inspired or related pieces surrounded the central figure. Besides Wonder Woman's, most of the costumes were quite modern and contemporary, including Robert Downey, Jr.'s, Iron Man costume. (thank you).

As much as I don't like Jeff Koons, his work is not to be missed on the rooftop of the Met. His balloon dog, and large heart's magnificently shiny surface reflected the NY cityscape and sunlight, much to photographers' and tourists' delight.

Lincoln on Lincoln

Out until this Sunday, a large trailer / exhibit all about Abraham Lincoln is on the Lincoln St. side of the Colorado History Museum. ( I can't make that up). It's not heavy on the artifacts, I wonder if for insurance reasons. But you will see Mary Todd's china, and some early campaign ribbons. There's plenty of video screens and movies, and an impressive film/hologram to hold your interest. Plenty of facsimiles to read as well. The spacious exhibit is well done for a traveling exhibit that can basically set up camp anywhere. After a few seconds you forget you're inside a trailer on the street.

Xi @ RULE

A sea of floating heads by Zhang Xi, surround the gallery at Rule this month. The three dimensional aspect of the faces, is one of the most interesting parts of the show. (however it never reproduces well in 2-D images, as seen left)

Visual Summary: Large canvases in earth tones with images of heads, dipped in mud with only areas around the eyes revealing original skin tone. Masks and masks.

Wow Factor: Beautiful doesn't come to mind, but creepy and disturbing does. Faces pop out of the canvas, almost playful.

It's hard not to think of the upcoming Olympics in front of this show. The disembodied heads are constant reminders of China's human rights policies and their treatment of Tibet. The show is worth checking out, for its disturbing qualities and I guarantee you, you won't find another show like this in Denver right now.

Leggo my Legos

A funny little installation of a Lego Western town is up at the Colorado History Museum, til the end of the month. Although lacking in height and sculptural quality, the detail is quite amusing. Hands rising up out of the graveyard, dinosaur bones, and stalagtites coming out of the cave. A yahoo being thrown out of the town saloon. And a train that looks like it is in working order. Kids will think it's cool, and adults will wish it was bigger.

Created by COWlug - Coloarado and Wyoming Lego Users Group. Become a member today.

DMMDT - not a pesticide

As part of Doors Open Denver tour, I thought I'd first visit the Denver Museum of Miniatures, Dolls, & Toys. I expected a small historic home turned into a museum. It was really hard not to laugh, and I applaud the volunteers present that Saturday, for their enthusiasm and knowledge.





A startling glass closet/phone booth of 3 huge teddy bears is awaiting your discovery on the 2nd floor. Most disturbing was a case of green army soldiers - half of them fallen down (intentionally?), with a model plane, tied with thick white yarn, and scotch taped to the top of the much needed to be replaced acrylic box. It was apparent the museum has no budget, and part of me wants to commend them for the job they've done, but it also made me want to cry. Large colorful print fabrics draped across the toilets to show they're not in use?



You can even rent the facility for birthday parties. If you really like doll houses, this is the place to visit, however, old metal toys and teddy bears, you won't find much of. There was an overwhelming amount of Asian dolls for some reason. I admit, I did freak out when I saw an old plastic horse that I hadn't seen since the Christmas I received it, but it's hair wasn't even well groomed.......



Words that came to mind meandering around the house: "sad, weird". The sun room/play room has 3 or 4 rows of window stickers depicting fameous Black Americans. Needless to say I was surprised to be greeted by an image of Billy Cosby when I entered the room. Are they forgotten images from February?

Indeed a strange place.