Denver Art museum - Essay Example

The Denver Art Museum has been home to diverse kinds of art and has become a staple of the Denver community. The façade of the museum showcases a very unique collection of sculptures that are worthy of a second look from any passer-by and especially from the visitors of the museum. There are actually four sculptures in large scale positioned in the Frederic C. Hamilton Building. Martin Plaza was named after Lanny and Sharon Martin, the spouses philanthropists who contributed $5 million to the Denver Art Museum for the landscaping of the vast area in 2006.

Martin Plaza serves as an interesting hub to the Civic Center Cultural Complex. The four featured staples in this area are ‘Denver Monoliths’ by Beverly Pepper, ‘Scottish angus Cow and Calf’ by Dan Ostermiller ‘Big Sweep’ by Coosje Van Bruggen and Claes Oldenburg all ranging between 13-40 feet and inside the Hamilton Building is ‘ENGI’ by Tatsuo Miyajima right by the El Pomar Grand Atrium (Denver Art Museum, pars. 1-4). The most fascinating among these paintings for me is the 35-foot sculpture the ‘Big Sweep’ created by Coosje Van Bruggen and Claes Oldenburg.

The sculpture is a gigantic installation of a broom and dustpan in color. The strands of the broom is actually in a sweeping motion where there are pieces of what appears to be crumpled white paper projected right into the oblique position of the dustpan. This gives the impression of movement and that the pieces of trash are actually being brushed into the receptacle and the final act would entail having to dispose of the same. It is a very colourful and attractive piece of art with the vibrancy of the paint colors used to complete it.

The dustpan is large solid blue shaped in a handheld sort complete with a whole on the upper side of the grip where such item is hooked onto the wall for storage. The broom has the feel of flexibility with its threads on relatively different angles in varied colors such as blue, black and red. The band which holds the strand of the broom clenches it to the handle of the broom in solid yellow. The most prominent smaller parts of the sculpture are the two crumpled white pieces that looks like paper.

On the flooring are dusts of white which completes the whole idea of a dirty surrounding in need of cleaning. The sculpture, with its bright colors and mundane appeal, can be easily mistaken for somewhat like a comedic piece by any other person. To a small child it is not far fetch to view it as the kind of things one sees in a playground. The fact of its commonality may even be its very appeal to people. This is of course relevant because of the Pop Art movement where it gets its origin. The sculpture in fact has a very profound significance in terms of its artistic value.

The work was commissioned by the Denver Art Museum belonging to “The Dustbin of History” series of Oldenburg and van Bruggen. The main inspiration was derived from the sanitation workers of Denver City (Seneff, par.4). The meaning that can be attributed to the sculpture could range various interpretations. There is upon a close examination a seemingly ironic element to the work because though it could be considered contemporary, the fact of using an outdated device like a broom and dustbin to clean up seems incompatible.

Still, there is correlation in a way that these tools are still at times much more convenient than modern ones even in the notion of its relation to history. The movement of the pieces are also very fluid which makes it something to behold. The peculiar position of the pieces is intriguing on hindsight and in practical terms simply difficult to install which only adds to its appeal. Overall, the apparent charm of the sculpture easily draws one to its catchy allure but the contemplation of the entire piece is where its uniqueness is most apparent.

BibliographyDenver Art Museum. "Four Large-Scale Sculptures Complement the Denver Art Museum’s Frederic C. Hamilton Building." n.d. Denver Art Museum. 26 September 2011 .Mark File. "Denver, CO, Photo Tour: Downtown Part One." 2009. File Investments, Inc. 26 September 2011 .Seneff , Heather. "Big Sweep by Oldenburg and van Bruggen at the Denver Art Museum." 3 June 2010. Denver.com. 26 September 2011 .