Dialog:Denver at Robischon Gallery

A A A Comments (1) By Michael Paglia Thursday, Aug 14 2008

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The one thing about Denver that I really can't stand is the relentless lack of support for local artists among the entities that could make a difference. Not only does this wrongheaded approach cheat the artists, but it shortchanges the city, too.

The latest affront is Dialog:City, which is being promoted by the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs and is completely disconnected from art in Denver.

Meant to coincide with the Democratic National Convention, the festival was put together by husband-and-wife team Seth Goldenberg and Liz Newton. And while there was plenty of room for artists connected with Rhode Island, where Goldenberg and Newton used to live, none of the key participants are from around here.

There's nothing wrong with the selected artists, headlined by Ann Hamilton (pictured in a still from the PBS program Art of the Twenty-First Century); it's just that they're irrelevant to the cultural life of Denver. Being exceedingly naïve and optimistic, I would have thought that something called Dialog:City would have been used to spotlight what's going on here and to show off Denver's great cultural leap forward for all those out-of-town dignitaries and media. But that would have meant that Erin Trapp, who runs the cultural affairs office, would have had to go to bat for the city's vibrant art world — a problem, as she apparently has no idea it exists.

I need to acknowledge that a side show at Robischon Gallery (1740 Wazee Street, 303-298-7788, www.robischongallery.com), Dialog: Denver, which opens August 21, will be made up of pieces by Colorado artists. But it wasn't originally part of the Dialog:City program and is actually the first phase of the My Yard, Our Message sign project, which will also be presented in Minneapolis when the Republican National Convention meets there.

For the Dialog:City schedule, go to www.dialogcity.org; for more convention-related events, go to click here.

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Charles Roderick 08/19/2008 2:24:00 AM

Having a vested interest in the arts, especially as it pertains to a larger community that is constantly shifting its understanding of cultural production, I think it would be important to note that there are intentions beyond what seems to be the obvious reaction to Dialog:City. Having been present during discussions and "Where are all the local artists?" questions pointed at Dialog:City and its organizers, I agree with what I believe the DNC promotes to accomplish � host the Democratic National Convention for the United States. It's shortsighted to believe that the DNC is first a chance for Denver to show its threads, second a national convention. Maybe the rest of the country/art world needs to see Denver as a potential host? A vibrant city that can challenge some of the concerns currently circulating within the art world, one worthy of hosting artist that engage a much larger audience than Denver. There is a larger world that Denver certainly participates actively within, but having been raised here and having left as an adult to experience many other cities within this country, Denver is and has been a somewhat "navel-gazing" art scene. That's not to say there isn't thoughtful, engaged work, but there seems to be now more than ever before a bid for defining Denver as a contender in an all too complicated, big city art world. We finally have our token architecture and by gosh, we want some of what�s ours during this once in a lifetime media spectacle. What I'd ask is why this story doesn't spotlight those initiatives that exist outside the confines of Dialog:City/DNC, or do they not exist? And furthermore, why doesn�t some of the more pertinent questions brought forth during the pre-DNC fervor forefront the Westword Arts section, such as much greater local initiatives revolving around cultural centers such as DAM, MCA and the LAB? What crawls on me when reading the perspective expressed in this article is the desire to be given something. Can�t we be more creative? After all, there are many things to complain about, but that fact that a group of world-renowned artist will be visiting our community certainly should not be one to spark an inferiority complex. What an opportunity to connect with artist that might otherwise never be so accessible. The complaint that local artists are not represented, and furthermore to acknowledge that there�s a heavy RISD contingent, would presume that life isn�t about connections. I agree, it appears to come close to a �buddy system�, but is that really shocking? If anywhere is more reliant on such a system, Denver is extremely bent. What concerns me more than the artist represented during Dialog:City is Denver's separatist tendencies. Where is this �local� artist community that is being left out of the DNC? And how dynamic is that community, especially in regard to some of the questions put forth by the DNC? I can�t say that I�ve seen much in the way of paving a support network amongst players within Denver�s art scene, especially transparent, accessible initiatives operating on multiple levels that also concerns a larger world� non-commercial, contemporary, political, radical, social, educational, site-specific, experimental, participatory, sustainable cultural production. All of which present themselves in some of the more vibrant cultural centers in this country.