If you get frustrated with the uptight, bourgeoisie and hands-off experience of art museums and dry, abstract tomes of poetry, don’t give up on the fine arts just yet. The Dikeou Collection is a student-accessible space offering an eclectic mix of tangible art and poetry experiences rife with fresh social commentary.
The Dikeou Collection is located in the Colorado building at 1615 California St., Suite 515 – right across from the 16th and California light-rail stop. In addition to having free admission, convenient smart-phone tours and zany art, the Collection has several unique DU ties that make it truly part of the DU community.
Rachel Cole Dalamangas, a 2007 DU graduate in English with a philosophy minor, is the director of the space. She first became involved with the collection as a junior at DU, when she applied for an internship with the affiliate magazine, zingmagazine, and was instead placed as an intern at the collection.
Since Dalamangas has been with the collection, it has added six installments to its original three. It’s also opened its doors to the public with free events such as artist talks, film screenings, yoga and poetry readings. The collection showed off its DU connections with a poetry reading featuring Maureen Owen, Bin Ramke and Eleni Sikelianos. Both of whom are professors in the English department.
The reading took place in a large room filled with mismatched upholstered lawn chairs and the two trademark hot-pink bunnies that had been deflated to the ground in homage to the poetry.
It was only fitting for the Colorado building, which Dalamangas says dates back to the 1800s. The antiqued tiles and radiators certainly added an avant garde feel to the space.
Readers spoke from a simple music stand.
Maureen Owen, author of several books including “American Rush: Selected Poems and Erosion’s Pull,” and current writing professor at Naropa University, read poems such as “Star-crossed ceramic lovers end it all,” that dealt with life and death in a quaint way. Her voice was light and accessible, yet thoughtful as she urged her words along with the slightest consonance.
Bin Ramke, iconic DU English professor and editor of the Denver Quarterly, was quick to follow suit with two poems from a book just published, and a poem inspired by the childhood of Clyfford Still, in honor of the new Clyfford Still Museum.
Ramke churned out his quick, rhythmic poems with a wandering elegance that silenced the crowd for seconds after he was finished.
“I like it because the space itself is interesting – especially the giant inflatable pink bunnies – and because the people involved take contemporary art and literature seriously,” said Ramke, who has read about five times at the Collection and was one of the first readers. Cultural experiences, such as poetry readings, have the potential to be important components of education, according to Ramke.
“Language is a product of the body. The vital engagement of speakers and listeners is a significant experience. One interesting element of reading at an art gallery is the reminder that some art experience is visual, and that can include the physical, material manifestation of language,” Ramke said.
Sikelianos, who also teaches at DU, took a different approach and read her poems with accompaniment of a nyckelharpa – a Swedish-stringed instrument that is thought to date back centuries. The melancholy stringed cadences seemed to add color to Sikelianos’ already rich voice, which fluctuated from hollow to full in her selections of poems about happiness.
“It was really fun to play with a musician,” said Sikelianos after the show. “And it was really great to see so many DU graduates, undergrads and even Ph. D students. There’s really a great feeling of community in the audience tonight.”
The collection, complete with deflated bunnies, musical pop bottles and pipe-cleaner tents, seemed to effectively frame the poems for DU students in the audience.
Margaret Miller, a senior Creative Writing major from Denver, frequents the Collection for events.
“The space is really conducive to poetry readings. I’ve come to quite a lot in the past few years,” said Miller.
Alaina Rook, a senior Creative Writing and Art History major, had similar sentiments. “The Collection is just a really tangible experience,” said Rook.
Kaitlyn Griffith, a sophomore English major from Omaha, who was a newcomer to the collection, was also a fan.
“I think the collection is remarkable. I like the familial aesthetic – it has a feel like a reconstituted flat, as if someone lived here once. The comfortable, home-like atmosphere really enhances the genuine quality of poetry being read in this space,” said Griffith.
Indeed, the expansive art pieces that flow from room to room, including room-sized airplane caricatures, jellyfish footage and even Devon Dikeou’s personal baseball collection, are intermingled with the office and bar within the space. Plus, the interactive exhibits in the space make it hard to feel like anyone does not belong.
The Dikeou collection will be holding several events, including the DU senior showcase for Creative Writing majors in April, in addition to being open for viewing and cell-phone tours Wednesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
