On Friday, July 19th, 2013, the Dikeou Collection hosted the second installment of our ‘Fresh Jazz and Crisp Vinyl Series.’ Attendees trickled in and noshed on our brag-worthy spread of delectable finger foods (homemade pork tenderloin and truffle popcorn courtesy of our curator, Devon Dikeou) and ample supply of free beer and wine as they strolled through the maze of galleries. Ken Hamel, founder and editor of DenverArts.org, dug through the crates and played rare vinyl grooves and then Ed Battle and His Trio performed a stellar jazz set with a monumental work from artist Vik Muniz’ chocolate series as the backdrop – it doesn’t get much cooler than that. The audience turnout was not tremendous, but the event itself was. As we were winding down a comment was made in slight frustration that such a unique, high quality, “this is the real shit” experience was overlooked by the greater art/music community. While this statement is sometimes true, I didn’t think much of it on this particular occasion. We knew there was competition on this evening because it was at the same time as ‘Denver Night: A Concert with Music and Animals’ at Civic Center Park, just a few blocks away from the collection.

‘Denver Night’ served as the closing ceremony for the Biennial of the Americas, a seven day, city-wide series of events, symposia, and exhibits meant to bring together all of the major players serving in the realms of business, education, art, and culture within the geographical and metaphorical span of the Americas. The schedule for the evening included artist Nick Cave’s popular HEARD-DAM soundsuit performance, a five part video and musical reclamation of “You are My Sunshine” conceived by Scott Kinnoman, Liliana Porter’s “Fox in the Mirror / El Zorro en el Espejo,” a humorous video work with musical accompaniment by Soprano Sydney Fisher and the Colorado Symphony, “Tragedy of a Sea Nymph,” an opera by and for dogs (yes, really), AND to top it off, an acoustic performance from members of The Fray. All of this happening while surrounded by an army of food trucks, local craft beer vendors, and brightly lit interactive art installations.

I attended ‘Denver Night’ with the Collection’s Director, Saniego Sanchez, his wife, and their friend after wrapping up our own event, and by that time had already missed the Nick Cave performance and only caught the tail end of “You Are My Sunshine.” As we wandered through the endless row of food trucks we bumped into our friend and prominent local art figure, Mark Sink. He was upbeat, and he chatted with us about how happy he was to see such an incredible turnout for a public event grounded in conceptual art and music. His words rang true, and reminded me of the comment mentioned earlier at our jazz event…the Denver population does not ignore such avant-garde happenings, but there is an elemental need for “the spectacle” (i.e. huge stages, rainbow neon lights, and big screens) to make it to the top of the Friday to-do list.

The two obscenely bright lights are actually projection screens for the artist videos. There was a solid crowd in front of the main stage who listened, watched, and giggled attentively during the quirky video and music performances. Adam Lerner, Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art and one of the primary organizers of the Biennial, took the stage to introduce one of the acts. He donned a black and white pinstripe suit and straw hat, like he was part of a Barbershop Quartet. There actually was a Barbershop Quartet on the bill for the evening…perhaps he moonlights as a baritone? I don’t know for sure, I wasn’t there for that part of the show. Later Governor Hickenlooper came out and shared some very uplifting words about the significance and success of the Biennial. I always enjoy hearing him address a crowd; he really has a way with getting people excited about their city, especially when it comes to the city’s thriving art community.

The first installation I investigated was “The Pool” by Jen Lewin from Boulder. There are 160 light pads that respond to audience interaction and change color. I’ve seen pieces similar to this at various exhibitions and public festivals, and these things can really take a beating. Kids and adults of all ages couldn’t get enough of this thing, but while everyone had fun stomping on the neon orbs beneath their feet, I was more concerned about the relentless overhead attacks of glowsticks being hurled into the air and falling onto unsuspecting bystanders like myself.

Here are two works that share a theme. The red structures are “Barns” constructed by Indie Architecture and Paul Preissner Architects, and inside was another participant-driven, semi-relational aesthetics piece by Viviane LeCourtois called “Grazing.” The haystack in the foreground displays a paper that shows the title of the work, artist name, and a brief description. The use of the haystack as the didactic indicator shows that Denver is still very much in love with its romantic cowboy heritage, and I really like the mixture we have going on in the city’s growing sense of sophistication with some down-home country flair. They accompanied all the artworks and were also used to post the performance schedule for the evening. 

So this is “Grazing.” Participants sit on homespun rugs in front of a long, low table full of fresh edible plants…that are still growing in the dirt. The participants are supposed to lean over and eat the plants like cattle grazing in a field. I was entranced at the sight of people eating like this; I would imagine the population of Mortville partaking in such a feast (with a side of you-know-what). And I couldn’t shake the thought of how many other people had slobbered all over those plants before one lucky individual got a heaping mouthful. The megawatt lighting filtered through the red walls of the barns created a menacing, slaughterhouse glow that clashed with the vegan vibe.

“Code Name: PRONGHORN” by Kim Shively and Chris Bagley was the only artwork that didn’t involve audience participation, or at least wasn’t presented that way. The description on the nearby haystack says that a taxidermied pronghorn (commonly mistaken for an antelope) dressed as a security guard watches the TV screens, but as this picture shows, there is no pronghorn in sight. I think I saw him sneaking a rum & Coke in the bushes.

Toward the end of the evening I found myself rather out of place when I accidentally drifted into a private VIP party held in the courtyard area surrounding the McNichols Building in the park, which houses the Biennial exhibition, ‘First Draft.’ I moseyed back across the grass and took this last shot of the Pronghorn piece with “Bucking Bronco” by Alexander Phimister Proctor, installed at the park in 1920. Events at Civic Center Park always attract big crowds, but ‘Denver Night’ took a risk by showcasing artists that not many people are familiar with and may not understand. Like Mark Sink, I was happy to see so many Denverites get exposed to conceptual artwork and alternative perspectives on how we relate to our Western location and mindset. I wonder what our old cowboy friend thought of it.

-Hayley Richardson