Throughout history, there have been accounts of “demonic possessions,” during which seemingly normal people suddenly go haywire, experiencing a whole spectrum of unusual and psychotic behaviors. In modern times, it happened to journalist Susannah Cahalan, who flew off the handle — out of the blue — in a haze of…
In its third year, the Denver County Fair is leaner and more user-friendly than ever, without having forfeited one iota of what made it great in 2011 and 2012: The urban-alternative celebration once again combines the traditional and the quirky, breaking the mold with everything from drag shows and zombie…
PlatteForum’s ArtLab projects usually involve resident artists working indoors with students to create a culminating installation and exhibit. But this summer, the nonprofit art-making machine branched out to work on a community project outside of PlatteForum’s usual boundaries, in collaboration with the Denver Urban Art Fund and city councilwoman Judy…
Ever wonder what goes on in that maze of rooms above the Capitol Hill eatery City, O’ City? You might know the jewel-box room Deer Pile for its recurring alternative shows, but the rest of the building’s second story is home to a hive of artist, yoga and recording studios…
Artist Theresa Anderson is also a writer, so it’s no surprise that when she journals, she documents the development of ideas both personal and artistic. Using found objects, Xerox transfers, various art mediums and even a needle and thread, Anderson sketches her way into finished works, all between the pages…
#55: Matthew Hunzeker Back in January, our first 100CC subject in 2013, artist Donald Fodness, chose Matthew Hunzeker — a northern Colorado ambient musician who performs using hybrid instruments of his own invention — as his favorite Colorado Creative. It was an intriguing choice, purposely drawn from outside Fodness’s own…
In a string of films in the 1970s, Robert Altman placed his alternative spin on everything from crime movies (Thieves Like Us, 1974) to Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe (The Long Goodbye, 1973). But Altman’s self-proclaimed anti-Western, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, which followed popular comedy M*A*S*H in 1971, might just be…
Editor’s note: Artist Charlie Boots is part of the inaugural pair of PAIR residents at Denver’s Powerhaüs Studio. As part of his residency, he and his fashion-designing counterpart will be reporting from the real world via Show and Tell, as they learn the ropes from studio mentors Mona Lucero, Lauri…
A little bit Warhol and a little bit outlaw, Dunn the Signtologist (aka Dan Ericson) uses street signs as his canvases, painting graffiti-style portraits on their angular and reflective surfaces. How he gets the signs in the first place is better not discussed, and the underground aura of this work…
The story of ordinary art collectors Herb and Dorothy Vogel — the working-class New York City couple who amassed thousands of notable artworks over the years — comes off like a fairy tale. But the inspiring message in their story — that anyone can, indeed, become an art collector –…
The members of the Phamaly Theatre Company, which showcases talented actors with physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities, form a tight crew. Some of them, like Kathleen Traylor, have been with the nonprofit troupe since its inception 24 years ago, and when their new production of Fiddler on the Roof opens…
The idea of the “exquisite corpse,” a blind collaboration between artists, has roots among the early-twentieth-century surrealists: folks like Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp and Yves Tanguy, who would each contribute a portion of a drawing in the hidden panels of a folded piece of paper. The whole of their efforts…
With an overdose of effects-laden, 3-D blockbuster movies filling almost every screen, a quiet little film might just be the antidote we need. A film like Japanese director Yasujirō Ozu’s 1953 classic, Tokyo Story, which subtly hits home through smart dialogue, excellent performances and somber cinematography. The story of an…
It might seem like a joke, but it doesn’t sound like a joke: Denver’s string-picking foursome Rocky Mountain Jewgrass really plays bluegrass, though it does so with a side of klezmer and an extra helping of humor. Eat. Eat! See also: – Pick That Ban-Jew: Rocky Mountain Jewgrass – Swallow…
We all know that science doesn’t bite, and sometimes it totally blows our minds. But as scientific spokesmen, from Mr. Wizard to Bill Nye the Science Guy, have proven to countless generations over the years, science is also oodles of fun. See also: – Space in Your Face: Blast Off…
#56: John McEnroe Artist John McEnroe tangles with the challenges of synthetic materials and sculptural process in big, drippy works with minds of their own. Best known for sometimes-ragged installations molded from plastics and polymers and filling spaces in unexpected ways, McEnroe seems to naturally think big. That’s reflected in…
Five Easy Pieces was a turning point for both its star, Jack Nicholson, and director Bob Rafelson when it came out in 1970 (they’d already collaborated on the psychedelic Monkees vehicle Head). Nicholson, who’d previously worked on a series of B-movie projects with Roger Corman and also tried his hand…
Editors note: The deadline has been extended to Monday, July 29. You have until midnight. Do you have a secret talent for brewing beer or throwing together nuts and seeds into a one-of-a-kind work of crop art? Do you love to recreate your grannie’s recipe for elderberry wine? Perhaps your…
Painter Ashley Williams works in Nederland and sculptor Sarah Williams is based in Chicago, but as sisters growing up in the Blue Ridge Mountains, their imaginations were as intertwined as roots in a primeval forest of trees. That included a shared fascination with natural disasters, fed by photographs in old…
#57: Adam Milner Part of a pack of bright young artists calling Denver home, Adam Milner is a visual documentarian with literary roots. A graduate of both journalism and art school at the University of Colorado, he won’t be pinned down by any medium as he explores his own traversal…
Boulder aerial dance maven Nancy Smith of Frequent Flyers Productions has been orchestrating the Aerial Dance Festival in Boulder for fifteen years, and she’s seen a lot of brilliant faculty members come and go during that time. In particular, there was David Clarkson, of Australia’s Stalker Theatre, who works with…
Editor’s note: Artist Charlie Boots is part of the inaugural pair of PAIR residents at Denver’s Powerhaüs Studio. As part of his residency, he and his fashion-designing counterpart will be reporting from the real world via Show and Tell, as they learn the ropes from studio mentors Mona Lucero, Lauri…
