101

Denver is known for these dancing aliens. I was riding home from class and thought I should finally get a few shots of these things. Below is a review of the sculpture I wrote for a 3D Design class. One I didn't much care for, but I liked writing the review. You can even see me sitting on the foot of one 'alien.'

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Installed in front of Denver Colorado?s Performing Arts Center, Jonathan Borofsky's Dancers serves as a unique sight when driving along Speer Boulevard heading into downtown. The two figures were commissioned by the people of Denver and erected in June of 2003.
Not since 1991 has Borofsky held a gallery show, instead taking himself outside of the constraints of the gallery space and into the never-ending space of the outdoors. Reaching his figures and sculptures into the sky, Borofsky continually aims to make full use of the enormous space he is provided by sculpting for the Earth's room rather than that of a human room.
Dancers is another example of reaching into these skies. Constructed of 25 tons of steel and fiberglass material, the weight of these figures is hardly the first idea one's mind crosses when studying these two forms. Form being the driving illusion, recognizable human features are immediately placed, while these features are also uncommon in their size and nature, the viewer is at odds with what he sees and what he wants to see.
The roundness is the next immediate sensation sent to the viewer's eyes. Perhaps answering the first question of what recognizable features are alluding to what they are and aren't. This roundness detracts from an assigning of sex, but rather pushes the simplicity of the forms, their smooth nature and this conjunction to the act the figures are participating in.
Hence the name, these forms are doing much more than dancing. Dancing with each other, within the space they occupy, and with the common theme of theatrics they so proudly represent while next to the Performing Arts Complex. Context has a huge role in this sculpture while layered meanings fly around the figures moving through the space as vibrantly as their materialized meanings.
Built around the same time the Complex was being completed, these figures represent a move in an artistic medium for the state's capital. In a way, their caught momentum suggests a celebration of sorts propelling a lasting impression on the city. The Complex is finished and houses many productions each year breathing life into the content of theatrical presentations and lifestyle appreciation. These figures, appropriately white to suggest a blank canvas, were a starting off point to begin the superhighway to the arts for Denver.
Borofsky has captured a movement in silent reference for what was to come. The positions of the limbs require the viewer to imagine the next flowing movement they might take. With this, the artist immediately is reaching into the minds of his audience and promoting a mental dance. One that will promote the idea of simple celebration and extended periods of free-flowing carelessness. These moments are abundant in the arts, theatrical or not, sculptural or not, but rather important to embrace when practicing art.
Each city has an aspect to it that is recognizable to the common outsider. As Borofsky well knew, this has become a symbol for Denver. Lovingly referred to as the dancing white aliens, the city's citizens have unknowingly become part of this dance. Driving to work, walking to class, this dance of life continues, as these perfectly white figures enjoy the immense sky they inhabit, seeming only to slightly touch the ground holding them aloft. A city is held afloat by its people and these curious, large, forms have carved out a space next to downtown performing the ideas of an international artist while contributing to the lifestyles and perceptions of the people they entertain. This performance has made Denver an international identity, adding to ultimately the world's identify, keeping afloat the world's citizens.
Dancing in recognition of many things worldly and local, this is the capture of a moment, so large we cannot mistake it; we cannot loose sight of it; we cannot ignore it.