Denver, DNC to bring art to the masses during Dem convention

Something for the anarchists to gawp at between the smashy-smashy. Rocky art critic Mary Chandler outlines how nicely "Art will play alongside politics in late August":

Denver loves to put on a show, and come late August, that certainly will hold true.

Some grassroots art-related projects will spring from the community here, but for the most part the major public artworks timed for the Democratic National Convention will be by high-powered artists from locales as varied as Hungary, South Korea and New York.

Major public artworks by high-powered artists. Here in Denver! It's an honor just to be able to help pay for them.

Between the Invisible Museum - a free-form arts advocacy group in Denver - and the Denver 2008 Host Committee, that includes works with a political edge, social commentary and plain star power.

Political edge, social commentary and plain star power. We are so lucky, Denvereens.

* The Invisible Museum [a free form arts advocacy group in Denver, in case you've forgotten or haven't thrown up yet--ed.] working with the Design Council, is bringing Hungarian artist Peter Kozma here for 10 days in April to find locations to
film. . . .

Kozma uses a Pani Slide projection system to then beam complex images of buildings and natural forms onto other buildings, streets and plazas.

So we're talkin' giant slide show here.

Organizers want Kozma to create 16 works, beaming two a night for eight nights before, during and after the convention.

The location being discussed at this time is Union Station, said Marina Graves, a founder and board member of the Invisible Museum. A PowerPoint of Kozma's work showed brilliant colors and geometrically influenced shapes projected so it appeared people could walk through them.

Chandler got to watch a Powerpoint (sorry, PowerPoint) presentation of a slideshow. Perks of a critic.

The cost? Graves said that a project Kozma did in Budapest cost about $240,000. No estimate yet for work for Denver, the artist's first in the U.S.

D-blog estimate: more than $240,000.

The lineup includes another light-projection project [can there ever be too many?--ed.], this one by Krzysztof Wodiczko, who would work with Denver's Road Home organization and homeless veterans. DJ Spooky is expected to bring his new sound and video work, Terra Nova: The Antarctic Suite - he spent a month there capturing the sights and sounds of breaking ice - to the Ellie Caulkins Opera House and, later, to a high school.

And later still, to a Dumpster™.

Seoul-based architect Minsuk Cho and his firm, Mass Studios, will build a temporary pavilion in City Park to house public discourse.

You mean Denver doesn't even have a House of Public Discourse yet? Fucking cowtown.

And there's the 2008 Cinemocracy Film Festival, which has a call out for short films (up to five minutes in length) to be submitted online. The 10 top vote-getters will be brought to Denver for a screening during the convention and the top film will have a berth at this fall's Starz Denver Film Festival.

You might remember Cinemocracy. Anyway, what's the bill on this balls-up?

The cost? Goldenberg said the host committee had set aside about $200,000for cultural programming, which needs serious augmenting. . . .

Obviously, since right now they can afford about three-quarters of a Hungarian slide show. But Chandler is reassuring:

As late August approaches, I'd bet that Denver's arts communities will step forward with more for all to see.

Yay.

Update: No, Ben Vereen is not a Denvereen.