I Drink, Therefore I Am

Surprisingly, the brainstorm that led to this weekend’s The Art of Drinking wasn’t fueled by alcohol. “Actually, when we moved to Denver, I was kind of astounded at how important alcohol was to people,” says organizer Bob White. “So I thought it was a good theme for what we were going to do here.” He found a good place to do it: Flying Dog Brewery, at 2407 Blake Street.

White, a photographer and the person behind Bad Art for Bad People (a group whose name was inspired by the Cramps’ Bad Music for Bad People), moved here from Tampa eight months ago and loves Denver, but was surprised to find the art scene “so low-key.” Which may seem like an odd description of First Fridays on Santa Fe Drive — but after hearing so much about it, White saw the night as a wasted opportunity. “They have this audience,” he says. “Why are they not capitalizing on it?” Even if they don’t want to offer live entertainment, he notes, the galleries could work harder to push the sale of art.

White plans to do plenty of that at The Art of Drinking, since several hundred pieces — by national and local artists alike, and all for sale — will go on display at the brewery at 4 p.m. today and stay up through 6 p.m. Sunday, June 10, unless they’re purchased in the interim. Say, at tomorrow night’s reception, which runs from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. and features not just visual art, but music from Little Fyodor, Ralph Gean and Get Three Coffins Ready; free beer and a ten-buck cover. “I’m really kind of against charging for going into an art gallery — you don’t pay to go buy things at a grocery store — but we have enough entertainment that it’s going to be well worth the $10 to get in the door,” says White.

Visit www.badartforbadpeople.com for more information.

And don’t exit through that door without a piece of art.

Fri., June 8, 4-9 p.m.; Sat., June 9, 6 p.m.-2 a.m.; Sun., June 10, 12-6 p.m.