The first Saturday of the month gets you into the Museum of Contemporary Art, on 15th and Delgany, for a penny. That’s culture on the cheap. Any other day of the month admission is $10, which is still worth it - if even to only investigate the new building designed by architect David Adjaye.
Built with environmentally sustainable sensibility, MCA's interior walls are made of translucent recyclable plastic which will help the busing use 40 percent less energy than a similar-sized structure built with conventional materials. There is also a rooftop garden designed by Colorado-based artist and landscape architect Kim Dickey and Karla Dakin. MCA is currently seeking LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification which would make it the first contemporary art museum in the country to do so.
The inauguration exhibit, Star Power: Museum as Body Electric, features seven artists from around the globe. The exhibit takes its subtitle from Walk Whitman’s poem, “I sing the Body Electric” and explores the body’s relationship to architecture. Unfortunately, I was unable to always see, feel, grasp the connection between architecture and the body while visiting the various artist-specific galleries.
However, David Altmejd’s mirrored installation, a stand-out within the exhibit, seemed to capture chief curator Cydney Payton’s intended vision. Giant structures constructed of mirrors, fleshly/hairy looking material, plastic gems, and Stars of David, tower in the room and make for a somewhat disgusting, but mostly beautiful landscape. The sculptures create a mirrored labyrinth slash super hero/villain lair and regardless of where you look, there is some reflected version of yourself staring right back, along with all sorts of potential metaphors and open-ended conclusions.
After visiting all the gallery rooms, we stopped in the MCA café and enjoyed a glass of wine on the roof top deck where you can take in a panoramic view of downtown Denver. My sister pointed out that from the roof, Denver looks a bit like Berlin with all the cranes appendages digging around Denver’s guts. Though Denver's a far cry from Munich when it comes to development, you can get a good sense of areas experiencing reconstruction and growth sports. My sister also pointed out that can see eight 2s on various structures and signs from the roof. This was true.
Museum of Contemporary Art
[where: 1840 15th St, Denver, CO 80202]
303-298-7554
www.mcartdenver.org
