Art In The City

Denver has it all: the Rocky Mountains in its backyard, proximity to ski resorts, mighty rivers, numerous parks, interesting neighbourhoods, lovely houses and a bustling downtown which encompasses a pedestrian-friendly mall.

What we also liked alot was the presence of public art in the city.

Our first encounter with the city's artistic side was upon arrival at the airport. Looking around for the exit, we saw these paper planes soaring alongside a mountain-scape on the wall. The trail of planes lead us from the monorail platform, up the escalator and pointed us to the baggage claim terminal. We thought this was really useful! And such an interesting, relevant and simple way to guide passengers to where they need to go, instead of the usual boring signage and arrows.

Follow these "arrows", they'll tell you where to go!

The Golden Triangle Museum District lies at the heart of Denver's downtown. Within the Golden Triangle, there are numerous art galleries, museums, cultural institutions, the public library, civic and historical buildings, and of course, public art pieces.

This one stood out from a distance - not only because of its size, but as you go nearer, you'll notice music playing from small speakers placed near the sculptures. Looking at how the figures seem to be joyfully dancing in the sun, some music to groove to is a definite must-have!

Being here makes you want to skip with joy too!

The great figures tower over the Denver Performing Arts Centre... and little humans.

This statue's butt isn't placed as precariously as it seems, over the pointy tip of the convention centre.

We actually drove and parked near the Colorado Convention Centre specially to see this:

King Kong isn't the only one who risks turning blue from all the thin air up there.

That, my friends, is a giant creature known literally as Blue Bear. This big guy measures in at a height of 40 feet and is made up of 4,000 interlocking triangles.

Someone's been sitting in my chair, eating my porridge and sleeping in my comfy bed!

He appears to be peaking into the convention centre! I think it's a brilliant and super fun piece of art! And such a great photo opp too.

Hey guys, I think it's time to end your meeting and get the hell outta there!

Just driving and walking around the city, we noticed many wonderful murals adorning otherwise ugly, ordinary and mundane walls.

So nice!

The Denver Art Museum has a new titanium wing designed by renowned architect Daniel Libeskind. Yups, that's the guy who's behind the twisty bendy Reflections @ Keppel Bay condo back home and New York City's Freedom Towers. I didn't manage to get a good angle of the building (some ongoing renovation works made it look all ugly) but its said to represent the steep facades and jaunty angles of the Rocky Mountains, and some parts of it seem to be hovering in the air.

It's not always rude to point

The building's not the only thing to gawk at while you're there. Look what I found hiding under one of its walls!

It'll sweep you off your feet!

How the giant broom and dustpan balances is a mystery in itself too. It's hardly touching the ground. And definitely not leaning against the museum wall.

What rubbish! Not!

Right across from the art museum is the Denver Public Library with its turrets and pointy caps. It was designed by some guy called Michael Graves and is said to be an example of postmodern architecture. I'm not an architect so I've no idea what that means.

Peaking from under a sculpture at the library and beyond it, the city skyline.

I think the best thing about the art pieces in Denver is that not only are they fun to look at and explore up close, most of them also serve some sort of useful purpose. Like the one outside the library - it provides a shady spot for reading your newly-loaned book on the grass!

I don't know what it means but it sure is useful!