The Fourth of July means many things to different people, but to one protester we encountered yesterday on the 16th Street Mall, it was all about freedom of speech. Though she uttered not one word, her visual stance — and a blunt hand-written sign — said it all…
Looking at Jimmy Descant’s new rocket ship, “VR Green Gamma Daedalus,” is like looking at a mint-condition classic muscle car: The glimmer of the painted flake green body of the 1952 Kenmore canister vacuum cleaner, which makes up the body of the rocket, gleams in the chrome of the shined-up…
Before artist Christian Usera can paint, he has to get his mind straight — usually he goes into a meditative state before he starts. The end result combines a mixture of mediums (watercolor, tempera, spray paints, acrylic, to name a few) into an emotional, dreamy composition. He knows his creative…
Last year we reported that Denver author Gregory Hill, a library book-buyer and part-time musician, was a finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award; the winners, as determined by public voting, would get a Penguin Group publishing contract and a sweet $15,000 advance. Cut to the chase: Hill, one of…
Summer is the time for group shows, especially those with a touch of whimsy — which is something that perfectly describes Dimensional Shifts, at the William Havu Gallery. For this thematically organized exhibit, gallery director Bill Havu selected artists who play with three-dimensional space, either by foreshortening it, elongating it…
Retired Marine sergeant Christian Ellis has turned his tour of duty in Iraq and the aftermath of returning home with post-traumatic stress disorder into an opera titled Fallujah. This is the first opera based on the war, and offers startling, musical insight into the mind of a vet struggling with…
Take a look at these cats: These are the Amazing Acro-Cats, which have skills that make even the cutest of house cats look like Garfield’s fatter, more sarcastic cousins. The second I saw this photo, I wondered (and then doubted) whether my cat has similar chops — whether she’s secretly…
Dozens of art admirers gathered at the Delgany bridge by the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver Friday night to view “Virga: The Sound Performance,” a work that featured sound designed to complement Virga, the art piece on the bridge…
The Colorado Renaissance Festival in Larkspur is safe from wildfires and will be open with free admission for children 12 and younger this weekend only. We’ll be there photographing our favorite costumes and chowing down on our latest obsession, turkey legs. Festival-goers can enjoy a 16th century marketplace with over…
New Belgium’s Clips of Faith — a free, outdoor film and brew fest — reels into Boulder tonight for the third year running. We think the chance to lounge on a picnic blanket, drinking in the fresh (albeit smoky) air as well as rare selections from New Belgium’s line of…
Arts & Venues Denver will premier a new art performance piece at the Delgany Pedestrian Bridge near the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver this evening…
ZIP POP! at Zip 37 provides a scope into the phenomena of pop culture, and how art plays into the societal dialogue between humans and the world they create for themselves. Dana Cain, who juried the groups show, explains that pop art delves into the concept that “everything is art”…
Summer heat keeping you glued in front of the fan? Get up and get out to Six and Four Articulations, a physical, visual and intellectual dance performance presented by the touring group of the same name at 8 p.m. tomorrow, at Work|Space. In advance of the show, we caught up…
Rural farm communities like Byers aren’t usually known for public art. M12, a local art collective, wants to change that by helping artists complete projects in small towns. This weekend, artist Jetsonorama will complete an installation as part of M12’s Action on the Plains. He’ll put up wheat paste pieces…
The Arvada Center gallery’s current Faces, Places & Spaces three-show summer extravaganza features a bevy — actually, a real beauty pageant — of artists from Colorado or with Colorado ties, and the result is a refreshing look at this state. The best way to get a feel for many of…
First-time author and Denver native Matthew Batt tells of his entry into the real world when he and his wife bought a house — a former crack house — in Sugarhouse: Turning the Neighborhood Crack House Into Our Home. The tale takes readers on his journey into adulthood, which included…
Looking to the planets can give us tremendous insight about our future on Earth, climate scientists said last night at the Boulder Theater’s “Climate Change on Earth and Other Planets.” A bow tie-clad Bill Nye the Science Guy led the panel of four distinguished scientists with a keynote speech, hooking…
To the stroller-pushing mommies and patio-side drinkers who lined West 32nd Avenue on Sunday afternoon, it probably looked like just another Cruiser ride, as thirty folks on bikes trekked up the Highland hills in Sunday’s 100-degree heat. Yet this sweaty mass, organized by the Denver New Rail~Volutionaries, was on a…
Right now there are, by my count, a total of nineteen shows up in the Denver Art Museum’s Hamilton Building and across the street in the Gio Ponti tower. But even a professional show-goer like myself can hardly be expected to keep up, especially with all of the other attractions…
Amidst the music and partying of Westword Music Showcase 2012, eight artists showed off their talents by painting Westword news boxes. Below are photos of the work of artists Steven Kuc of Soldier Ink Design, 2010 MasterMind and self-proclaimed Art Pimp Eric Matelski, Scott LeFavor, Yeyo Mondragon of Certified Customs,…
The 16th Street Mall was buzzing with music last week as artists of all shapes and sizes filled the air with their collective auditory gifts for Make Music Denver. This was the first time that Denver participated in World Music Day; it joined 450 other cities thanks to the efforts…
Steamrolling toward the August nationals in Charlotte, North Carolina, the 2012 Slam Nuba slam poetry team (and 2011 national winner) is just back in town after snagging a first-place victory in the Southwest Shootout in Tulsa. The Slam Nuba crew will celebrate tonight, with help from guest poet Tongo Eisen-Martin…
