DIA Blue Mustang only the third most bizarre piece of public art in USA? Really? (PHOTOS)

The folks at the Yahoo! travel feature Wanderlust have come up with a list of the five most bizarre public art displays in these United States, and, predictably, the Blue Mustang at Denver International Airport made the final cut. More surprisingly, it only places third. This, my friends, is a...

By Michael Roberts

October 21, 2011

Audio By Carbonatix

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The folks at the Yahoo! travel feature Wanderlust have come up with a list of the five most bizarre public art displays in these United States, and, predictably, the Blue Mustang at Denver International Airport made the final cut. More surprisingly, it only places third. This, my friends, is a tremendous injustice, as you'll see by the images of the Wanderlust quintet we've assembled below. The only real competition is from the number one selection, which is wonderfully strange. But did it manage to kill its creator? I think not. Judge the list for yourself below. 5. Broadway Dance Steps, Seattle, Washington A feature of the Capitol Hill neighborhood in Seattle, the footprints are numbered as a way of encouraging passersby to foxtrot, etc. Cute. Quaint. Charming. But bizarre? Seriously? 4. SunFlowers, Austin, Texas These metallic flowers, planted in what's known as the "Electric Garden," are actually photovoltaic sculptures that glow at night thanks to stored solar power. It's an impressively green concept, well-executed. But again, "bizarre" is the wrong descriptor. 3. Blue Mustang, Denver, Colorado Now we're talking! This shot of the late Luis Jimenez's creation was distributed by Denver International Airport a couple of years ago as a way of attracting people to the facility, prompting our accurately headlined post "DIA's promo photo kicks ass of all other airport promo photos." Page down to see the two displays Yahoo! considers more bizarre than this. 2. Bus Home, Ventura, California Artist Dennis Oppenheim's 36-foot-high sculpture depicts a bus magically transforming into a house after a loop-de-loop or two. It's an entertainingly nutty notion, of which Venutrans should be proud. But our Blue Mustang stomps it into the dust. 1. Crown Fountain, Chicago, Illinois Okay, I'm willing to concede that this video sculpture, in which images of Chicagoans are made to look like giant spitting champions, gives the Blue Mustang a run for its money. How about a tie for first?

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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