Boulder, Colorado is a cultured place. No you don’t see many ties when you’re out to eat (actually you see more blue jeans than anything else), but there are many art galleries, a few museums and a good selection of public art. I am actually working on a slideshow showing the public sculptures around town but I was once again sidetracked by the renovation of Casey Middle School.
As you may know from a previous post, Casey is closed for a year and a half so that a new, modern school can be rebuilt. The school will be a showcase of modern amenities and sustainable practices including geo-thermal heat and passive solar, but from the street it will still look like 1927. The west and south facade’s are being preserved. As I was driving yesterday I saw the old walls being held up by fifty or more steel beams tied to a new footer wall. The view was quite surreal and the building looked like it was being attacked by a giant octopus.
This gets me back to public art in Boulder. Back when I was a kid in the late 70’s or 80’s the city erected a huge metal sculpture at the intersection of Baseline and Broadway, near CU’s law school. The sculpture was hideous! It looked like a giant octopus emerging from the ancient depths. The sculpture lasted for a few years at its first location and then I believe it went into storage. It has since been resurrected directly across from the Boulder Jail. This freedom of expression is the last view of freedom the inmates get before being locked away. I’d say that’s cruel and unusual punishment! If any of you know more about the history of the sculpture I’d love to hear about it. Just leave a comment below. As I said I will follow up with some really good public art in the near future.
