Game Changer, an exhibition curated by Ruth Bruno and Cortney Lane Stell, opened July 17th at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art. According to the exhibition statement, Game Changer aims to “examine artists’ relations to the aesthetics, rules, and cultural significance of competitive sports. … While addressing various components of sports, the works in Game Changer illuminate the potential of art to foster many different types of critical contemplation.” The show features twelve artists from around the world, including Devon Dikeou, a sports aficionado whose knowledge and appreciation of athletic competition permeates several works in her oeuvre.

The large open space, high ceilings, and hardwood floors of BMoCA’s main gallery has always reminded me of a gymnasium, making it a fitting arena for a sports-themed exhibition. Artist Ana Soler’s “Starting Point: Causa-Effecto” activates the space and the audience experience at the front entrance of the museum. With multiple tennis rackets suspended to mimic the movement of someone swinging and hitting the ball, which travels throughout the museum in a state of suspended animation, the piece celebrates the kinetic aspect of sports and prompts visitors to get in the game. The tennis balls bounce in front of Denver artist Phil Bender’s “Soccer Jerseys” and reach the next crescendo before disappearing at the entrance of the next room, only to reappear on the second floor in frozen bounce frenzy.

Alejandro Almanza Pereda’s “Veinte y uno exquisito” does very well at affirming my gym comparison. A basketball begs to be dribbled across the pale wood floors and dunked into the basket overhead. However, doing so would cause some bodily injury and probably a lawsuit or two considering the hoop and backboard are made of a vintage mirror and neon lights.

It’s best to save the MJ impression for the court in your driveway.

There are other works like Pereda’s that appear as an invitation for play, only to prove their uselessness when the participant actually tries to accept that invitation. David Andamo’s “Untitled (Ping Pong)” paddles have holes and are made of heavy bronze, and Brett Kashmere’s “Anything But Us Is Who We Are” involves a NBA 2K10 videogame with LeBron James that cannot be played because there is no controller. Actually many of the artworks are comprised of materials that are meant to be touched, worn, or played with. Putting these objects in the context of a museum, where “do not touch” is still the standard, gives the viewer that itch to dig out their own favorite jerseys and enjoy the sports they love. However, Devon Dikeou’s piece reminds viewers of the intangible reasons why our culture is so obsessed with athleticism and competition, which stems from the hearts and souls of the athletes themselves.

Dikeou’s five black and white photographs are part of a larger installation titled “Marilyn Monroe Wanted to be Buried in Pucci,” and were originally exhibited at the Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia in 2009. This work reflects on the relationship between the iconic actress and baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, and how that relationship, along with their fame, endured in life and in death. The photos depict an American flag at half-mast in New York City, and were shot by the artist on March 8, 1999, the day DiMaggio died.

The images, though somber, speak volumes about everything Americans treasured about DiMaggio beyond the playing field. He was one of the most idolized figures in American culture yet retained his sense of modesty, a quality Hemmingway surmised best when he penned, “’I would like to take the great DiMaggio fishing,’ the old man said. ‘They say his father was a fisherman. Maybe he was as poor as we are and would understand.’"

Game Changer

is on view at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art until September 14, 2014.

-Hayley Richardson

With the DVD release of El Topo (1970) and its successor, The Holy Mountain (1973), in 2006 and 2007, Alejandro Jodorowsky’s heady and often unsettling filmic visions were finally available to permeate the sheltered minds of a new generation. Although his first film Fando y Lis (1968) and later work Santa Sangre (1989) had been available to the public on VHS and DVD, they did not have the same intense cult following as El Topo and The Holy Mountain. With the reintroduction of Jodorowsky’s name and work into millennial pop culture, the time was right for him to return to the big screen with new stories to tell.

In 2013 Jodorowsky had the benefit of a double booking at the Cannes Film Festival, which featured the premiers of Jodorowsky’s Dune and The Dance of Reality. Jodorowsky’s Dune is a documentary directed by Frank Pavich that tells the story of “the greatest film never made,” and features interviews with Jodorowsky and other individuals involved in the pre-production stages of the sci-fi film interpretation. The Dance of Reality is based off Jodorowsky’s autobiography of the same title. It is interesting that both of these films share a relationship with books, contain elements of biography, and were released at the same time. I hardly consider myself an expert on this artist, but I have a hunch he had this whole sequence planned out in his head many years ago.

In assembling his cast and production team for Dune, Jodorowsky sought one specific quality – a warrior spirit. There are several instances when he refers to himself as a god (in the least egotistical way a person can), and even called the Dune project a creation of god. Therefore, anyone involved in the film had to be willing to make significant sacrifices to their minds, bodies, and spirits.

Concept illustration for Dune by Dan O’Bannon

Dan O’Bannon, the man tasked with special effects, had to commit himself to psychiatric treatment when the film never got picked up for production. It was during this dark time that he wrote the screenplay for Alien. Symbolic resurrection at its finest.

Character illustration for “Paul” by Jean Giraud aka Moebius

The person who most embodied this warrior spirit was Jodorowsky’s 10-year-old son Brontis, who was set to play the lead role of “Paul.” For two years Brontis trained every day for 5 hours a day in mixed martial arts to prepare for the physical and mental demands of the role. His preparations never came to fruition.

Alejandro and Brontis in El Topo; Brontis as “Jaime” and Jeremías as “Alejandro” in The Dance of Reality

It is apparent that Alejandro cultivated the warrior spirit in Brontis at an early age, considering he played the son of the main character (played by Alejandro) in El Topo and was shooting guns naked in the desert at 6 years old. His unorthodox introduction to film and the defeat of Dune did not hinder Brontis from pursuing a very full career in acting and directing for cinema and stage. He stars in The Dance of Reality, playing the role of his own grandfather, Jaime. His presence on screen is intense, showing that this man has fully become the warrior his father always wanted him to be. Brontis’ own son Jeremías plays Alejandro as a child, and Alejandro appears in the film as an angel-like being that consoles his young self in times of fear and confusion.

Three generations of the Jodorowsky clan acting out the harsh realities and epic fantasies that permeate their bloodlines is amazing to see play out on the movie screen, and was meant to be a cathartic and bonding exercise for all involved. It is important to note that Alejandro is a practitioner of psychomagic and psychogenealogy, and that The Dance of Reality is the cinematic manifestation of these beliefs. According to Alejandro’s biography , “Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life. This therapy is based on the belief that the performance of certain acts can directly act upon the unconscious mind, releasing it from a series of traumas, some of which practitioners of the therapy believe are passed down from generation to generation. Psychogenealogy includes the studying of the patient’s personality and family tree in order to best address their specific sources.” I encourage others to familiarize themselves with Alejandro’s biography because it provides insights to important themes in the film that may otherwise go unnoticed and will enhance one’s appreciation for the narrative.

Even though Jodorowsky’s Dune and The Dance of Reality are two completely different types of film, they maintain a dialogue with one another and I enjoyed picking up on the areas of overlap. The Dune documentary was a great primmer to The Dance of Reality, as it explains Jodorowsky’s approach to filmmaking and his current attitudes toward his past and future projects. The strongest connection between the two films is the god-like mentality Jodorowsky describes in the Dune documentary and how it flows throughout The Dance of Reality, particularly in the Father/Son/Holy Spirit trinity he creates with himself, his son, and his grandson. The notion that art imitates life is extremely potent in Alejandro’s world, as his successes and setbacks exemplify the cycle of creation, sacrifice, and rebirth.

-Hayley Richardson 

On June 7th families came to the Dikeou Collection to make storyboard collages inspired by artist Luis Macias’ “A Fine Monday Morning."

Our Family Saturday Workshops take place on the first Saturday of the month for the rest of the summer. The Workshops, along with all other events at Dikeou Collection, are free and open to the public. Join us for our next workshop on July 12 as we explore concepts of “anti-painting” and negative space as used by Dikeou artist, Sarah Staton.

“Like” Dikeou Collection on Facebook to keep up with all our monthly events!

-Dikeou Collection

On August 9, 2014, the Aspen Art Museum (AAM) will open its doors to the public for the first time on the corner of Hyman Avenue and Spring Street. After 35 years occupying a former hydroelectric plant, this contemporary, non-collecting art museum is making a big move just a half mile away. Rather than reappropriate another structure, the new Aspen Art Museum has been completely redesigned and built from the ground up.

Current home of the Aspen Art Museum. Image courtesy of the Aspen Art Museum.

The museum’s present building on North Mill Avenue was originally constructed in 1888. It is a local historic landmark that cannot be torn down or remodeled, which means there is no room for growth. The time came to enlarge the museum to accommodate more exhibitions and expand programming, as well as relocate to a more centralized and visible area in town.

Shigeru Ban, a Japanese architect known for his humanitarian projects using non-traditional, recyclable materials, was unanimously chosen in fall 2007 by an AAM Architect Selection Committee to design the new museum. Ban has been recognized internationally for his beautiful, environmentally sustainable, and charitable constructions for decades, but his recent award of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the highest honor bestowed upon a living architect, has done much to boost his profile to the public at large. This is a huge boost for AAM’s ever-growing profile as well, especially because this will be Ban’s first permanent museum in the United States.

Blueprints and visual diagrams of Shigeru Ban’s design for the new Aspen Art Museum inside the Turner Construction offices.

I had the privilege to take a hard-hat tour of the new building with AAM’s Nancy and Bob Magoon CEO and Director, Heidi Zuckerman Jacobson, along with AAM Project Manager, Mike O’Connor. With only a little over a month to go before the completion date (exhibition installation begins in mid-July), the site was a hotbed of activity with teams of construction workers occupying every nook and cranny of the three-story building and rooftop.

Model of new Aspen Art Museum. Photo by Tony Prikryl, courtesy of Aspen Art Museum.

There are five main architectural elements that define this structure:
1. The Grand Staircase, which dominates the east side of the building
2. The “moving room” also known as the Glass Reception Elevator in the northeast corner that gives passengers views of the inside and outside of the building
3. The wooden screen that wraps and weaves over the exterior on the north and east sides
4. The undulating wooden structure that partially covers the rooftop terrace
5. “Walkable” skylights on the roof and lower skylights in the galleries that allow people to see through part of the floor

Construction taking place in the museum on May 23, 2014

We entered the site on the south side, ground level, which is where two galleries, an education space, visitor services, bookstore, and on-site artist apartment/studio will be located. The second floor will have the largest gallery space and lounge area, a library, and the administrative offices and board room.

The third level has a café and allows for rooftop access to the sculpture garden. These wavy trusses, which do not require metal joints, support the roof and partially cover the rooftop garden.

There is a floor below ground, too, which will contain two more gallery spaces, the Black box theater, a room for art preparation and conservation, and storage. The image above is a view of the stairs that lead from the lower level to the street level.

View of the Grand Staircase from Spring Street

Integrating the building and the visitor experience with the natural environment is key to Shigeru Ban’s design. For example, the Grand Staircase, which will be enveloped in the screen façade, allows visitors to “climb” to the upper levels and catch views of the town and mountainous landscape outside.

This is the only public rooftop in Aspen and offers fantastic views of Ajax Mountain.

Visitors can take the glass elevator on their “descent” back down the structure, an act that Ban has loosely compared to skiing and snowboarding. In fact the highlight of my visit was being able to ride the elevator with Heidi and Mike the first time it had been officially used. The movement of the elevator will be visible from outside the building, something that will catch the eye of those passing by on the street. The woven façade had not been mounted yet, so I had a clear view of everything gliding up and down outside rather than a “peek-through-the-trees” kind of view I imagine once it is installed.

View of the Grand Staircase from the glass elevator. Platforms will be integrated along the stairs for the display of three-dimensional objects.

I mentioned to Heidi how there is an implied sense of ascending and descending the structure like a mountain. She replied with an anecdote that Ban shared with her in regard to this idea. According to Ban, if a man were to encounter a pebble on his path, the decision to either move the pebble and continue or leave the pebble and change the direction of his path depends very much on his cultural mindset. In America, where people will go wherever they darn-well please, most would likely kick the pebble out of the way. In other words, it is impossible to dictate a person’s trajectory within a museum environment. I thought this was an interesting perspective, one that flows with the AAM’s mission to have the artwork be the focus of the experience and guide visitors rather than have the architecture determine the journey.

Architectural rendering of the third level with rooftop. Image courtesy of the Aspen Art Museum and Shigeru Ban Architects.

AAM’s status as a non-collecting institution is a significant aspect to its mission, and is one that will be enhanced with the opening of the new building. I asked Heidi how this building will influence the museum’s approach to and scope of exhibitions, and she said that it will allow them to show larger exhibitions, allow for more travelling exhibitions to be integrated into the schedule, and they will be able to show more exhibitions simultaneously. Furthermore, the galleries will be outfitted with movable partitions in order to adapt to the needs of various types of artwork and alter the look of the space. While collecting museums dedicate massive amounts of space (and time, money, energy, etc.) to the storage of objects, many of which never even get exhibited, all efforts at the AAM will focus directly toward the presentation of art.

Even though the AAM does not purchase and collect artwork, it is very much engaged with living artists and finding ways to generate and disseminate new and original art into the public. For example, Dikeou Collection artist, Margaret Lee, is currently participating with the museum as a Photographer in Residence. Over the next few weeks she will visit Aspen and create new commissioned photographs in association with the new building. These photographs will be released throughout the year, beginning with the grand opening of the museum in August. To quote Heidi, “We are a non-collecting institution, but we do ‘collect’ and share our unique experiences of working with artists in unexpected places and ways; this approach allows us to further extend these aspects of our institutional culture.” By putting artwork into the public realm, it will entice people to enter the space of the museum.

The final exhibition at the original home of the Aspen Art Museum will feature work from Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto, who is also the AAM’s 2014 Aspen Award for Art honoree. The inaugural shows at the new Aspen Art Museum will feature an exhibition pairing Yves Klein and David Hammons. Shigeru Ban will be honored with an exhibition, Humanitarian Architecture, which will feature architectural models and will also be accompanied by a catalog published by AAM. Other debut exhibits include Cai Guo-Qiang, Jim Hodges, Tomma Abts, and Rosemarie Trockel.

Architectural rendering of the museum’s main entrance on Hyman Street. Image courtesy of the Aspen Art Museum and Shigeru Ban Architects.

People walking along the street in front of the museum will be able to catch glimpses of these shows through the interstitial spaces in the wooden screen, a subtle “come closer” gesture the building creates through its most noticeable architectural feature.

Image courtesy of the Aspen Art Museum

For those interested in more details about the new Aspen Art Museum, including the construction process, the project team, timeline, and much more, visit the ”New Building” section of their website. There are high quality photos and videos of the building process that capture new developments every week, and profile some of the individuals involved in the construction.

Heidi said that Shigeru Ban is still highly involved with the project and comes to Aspen on a monthly basis to check on progress. He visited the Monday following my visit, and, according to Heidi, it went very well. Ban was recently quoted saying that the new Aspen Art Museum is “my great step forward in my career as an architect.” This is a bold statement for someone who has accomplished so much and impacted many lives over the course of his career. The Aspen Art Museum marks a new chapter in an already impressive legacy. 

-Hayley Richardson

Dikeou Pop-Up: Colfax occupies what was once Jerry’s Record Exchange, a notable spot along East Colfax Avenue that contributed to the colorful culture that populates this legendary strip. Devon Dikeou visited the vacant shop on her last trip to Denver, and knew right away that it was the perfect location for a new pop-up gallery.

The work of a few artists has been on the installation waiting list, but the shifty lights, torn laminate floors, and other forms of structural deterioration within the space would be most accommodating to the provocative and ephemeral creations by Lizzi Bougatsos. The grand opening was set for Friday, April 18, 2014.

She arrived from New York on Thursday afternoon. I met her and Dikeou Collection Director, Saniego Sanchez, in the parking lot behind the pop-up. While shaking hands she says I look really familiar and asks if we’ve met before. I tell her no. “You sure? You ever come to New York?” We make our way inside.

Five of Lizzi’s pieces are installed at Dikeou Pop-Up: Colfax, along with an additional piece, an ice sculpture, which was exhibited at the opening and will be recreated on special occasions.

Pussy For Rent, 2010
Self-Portrait, 2012
Happy Ending 2, 2012
Good Hair, 2010
Dick Toss II, 2012
In God We Bust, 2010

“This is great. This is so rad,” she said as she investigated the space. She hadn’t seen many of these pieces since they were exhibited at James Fuentes about 4 years ago. It was then suggested that we peak downstairs in the basement.

We made our way down the rickety rainbow staircase and found ourselves surrounded by graffiti, album covers glued to the ceiling, and random household objects scattered on the dirt floor. Lizzi loved it. This underground abandonment, stained with a sense of youth, was a very happy place for her.

As we emerge from the basement she asks again, “Are you sure we haven’t met? At James’?” I tell her I’ve only been to his gallery once, to which she replied, “I’m there all the time. It had to have been there.” At this point we all decide to make a quick stop at the Denver MCA to see Rashid Johnson’s show and have a drink at the rooftop bar. On the way to the museum she tells us how she was Kim Gordon’s date to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony where she got to meet Stevie Nicks and Emmylou Harris, and attend the Nirvana after party. Just some of the perks of the rock’n’roll lifestyle. Dinner at Domo Japanese Country food restaurant, museum and garden rounded out the evening.

This picture is from inside the small museum, which is part of a dojo, at the restaurant. Lizzi said Japan is one of her favorite places to travel to because of the food and culture. “This place is my jam,” she said as we left for the night.

The weather was beautiful the next day, perfect for a journey to Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, just 30 minutes outside of Denver. This is one of the most revered performance venues in the world, so naturally Lizzi took the stage with three construction workers on backup.

We journeyed down the road a bit and found this colorful little niche. Here’s Lizzi and Saniego posing with some rock art.

Lizzi couldn’t get enough of the great outdoors. We couldn’t hang around too much longer, though, because it was time to get ready for the opening of Dikeou Pop-Up: Colfax!

Green glow emanating from In God We Bust. To the left is a peak at Dikeou Collection’s extensive vinyl record archive (over 8,000 LPs and 45s). The records originally came from Jerry’s Record Exchange, and are now available for pop-up visitors to explore and listen.

Lizzi was the DJ for the night and played tunes from the archive.

The next day Lizzi hosted an artist talk at the pop-up. She said it was challenging to discuss some of these works because they were made several years ago and her thoughts and process have changed. Pieces like Happy Ending II and Self-Portrait are more representative of the direction she is heading with her art. Her recent interview with zingchat covers a lot of what she expressed during the talk.

No trip to Denver is complete without a visit to Dikeou Collection, especially now that Lizzi has been officially inducted into the clan. Here she is with Momoyo Torimitsu’s Somehow I Don’t Feel Comfortable in her Easter Sunday dress.

Dikeou Collection would like to extend a big thanks to Lizzi for traveling to Denver for the opening of Dikeou Pop-Up: Colfax. It was such a treat to spend time with this talented artist and introduce her work to the Denver art community.

Dikeou Pop-Up: Colfax is located at 312 East Colfax Ave. and is open Wednesday through Friday, 11:00-5:00. The “Fresh Jazz and Crisp Vinyl Series” featuring the Jean Luc Davis Quartet will happen there on Friday, May 16 at 7:00 PM.

-Hayley Richardson

April 28, 2014