It is something to be able to paint a particular picture or to carve a statue, making a few objects beautiful.
It is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look. To affect the quality of the day-that is the highest of arts.
This is a thought worth pondering on account of the statues and sculptures that are sprinkled throughout the University of Denver campus.
The courtyard of the Boettcher Center, a science building at the University of Denver, showcases the old alongside the new.
A cylindrical sculpture the shape of a coffee can, with bolts and screws of all shapes and sizes sticking out helter-skelter, is attached to a rusty pole rising from a crude cement block.
An inscription at the foot of the sculpture says, “As engineers at dear old DU, we worked and studied to make her true. We worked until we brought distinction. Then she decides to cause our extinction- but don’t laugh, it may happen to you.”
The reference is to the College of Engineering that existed at the University of Denver from 1918 to 1975.
Across the courtyard are three busts of Boettcher benefactors: Claude, Charles I and Charles II. These busts were done by sculptor Sheila Carrasco in 2001 and while they all have different clothes or hairstyles, their large, pronounced noses make it clear that they are from the same gene pool.
Near the pools and fountains directly in the middle of the campus is a statue of Mary and Margery Reed, portrayed reading a book surrounded by the buildings named after them.
To the north in front of Penrose Library, a strange sculpture dominates the entrance. The complex work, an abstract clasping of metal half circles, starts the students’ minds working before they ever enter the library.
Still farther north near the Coors Fitness Center, an array of sculpted lips, some on columns and some in the form of benches, create a distinct landmark.
The lips talk and are named the Whispers Project, created in 1999. The sculpture consists of four motion-activated benches in the shape of human lips that trigger various recorded audio.
The Digital Media Studies program is now in charge of this project and encourages anyone in the DU community to contribute their own audio to the benches.
Their Web site states, “This open call is for anyone, student and faculty alike, who have created, or are interested in creating, a piece for exhibition. The audio material can come from any discipline; creative writing, critical theory, drama, astronomy, etc. Content may range from lecture recordings to studio productions.”
The Web site says that submissions can be made to Digital Media graduate student Evan Pollack at epollack@du.edu.
Although the Whispers Project tells its story literally, each artwork has its own story to tell. Whether they are new or old, abstract or concrete, they all enrich the DU community by adding a unique and artistic flare.
