by Regan Bervar | May 20, 2022 | Main Articles
Ground Floor Opinions About Denver’s Meow Wolf Installation
by Luke Schmaltz
Meow Wolf takes visitors through a journey of convergence through the multiverse — a confluence of four separate worlds which collide around the viewer’s senses.
Meow Wolf Convergence Station sits at the crossroad of Colfax Ave. and I-25 like a fortress of the extraordinary — a labyrinth of mind-bending worlds meant to immerse, inspire, and entertain.
The exhibits and attractions therein await to bombard visitors with an unmapped, unpredictable miasma of madness without warnings, wherewithal, or significant signage. The experience lands somewhere between interactive art museum and over-hyped tourist trap. Similar to the institution’s original location in Santa Fe, NM, and the subsequent installment in Las Vegas, NV, this destination is dripping with the artistic input of hundreds of contributors and collaborators — many of which are residents of the Mile-High City. The organization’s official statement is that among the 300+ artists who collaborated, exactly 110 were from Denver.
Whether Denver’s Meow Wolf installation is truly a monument to modern and postmodern art or a sensory overload amusement park on audio and visual steroids is a matter of opinion. These can range from positive to critical to indifferent — depending on one’s perspective and their position on the merits of big business converging with independent artists.
The Repurposing Diorama Maker
Scott Hildebrandt — aka Mr. Christmas — is a Denver-based artist who combines his love for miniatures and holidays into a unique brand of playful creativity. Hildebrandt applied to collaborate with Meow Wolf in 2017 and waited for two years before definitive plans to get to work were made. “In the summer of 2019,” he begins, “I began submitting plans, diagrams, specs, and requirements of the space that I would need. Then, over the rest of 2019, there were several meetings with lighting and sound teams to define my needs for this project,” he explains. “There was quite a bit of momentum at the beginning of 2020, until the pandemic halted everything. [By] late summer of 2020, I was able to finally get started by collecting materials mocking up my design. By fall, I was assembling and designing my concepts and building the framework. At the beginning of 2021, I was in full production mode with a hard fast deadline of May 1st to meet final inspections. For four months straight, I worked seven days a week, around 8 to 14 hours a day to make that deadline.”
Hildebrandt says he considers Meow Wolf to be a hub of artistic merit and an outstanding Denver treasure. “I truly believe that Convergence Station is an art installation and definitely an
Scott Hildebrandt specializes in miniatures and dioramas but his Meow Wolf collaboration is a macro-installation of his work.
art experience,” he says. “The whole venue encourages
Scott Hildebrandt’s Meow Wolf installation is a life-sized diorama made of repurposed materials.
playful curiosity and invokes imagination with art in a way that no other museum or gallery can. Denver is truly blessed to have something like this in their very own backyard. Not only is it good for Denver, but it is very good for the Denver art scene. Convergence Station showcases 110 Denver artists and shows how strong the Denver arts scene really is. Since I’ve started my journey as a full-time artist, I have had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful artists here in Denver. On any given First Friday, you can explore galleries all over Denver showcasing both new and old artists and be truly amazed at the talent that we have here,” he says.
The Insider
Mar Williams is a Denver illustrator who became involved with the Meow Wolf corporation in 2016 and was subsequently part of a 2019 class-action lawsuit against the company for discrimination. Williams is transgender, and alongside several other individuals had complaints against the company (a B Corporation) for unfair practices toward employees based on gender.
While the matter was resolved in early 2020, Williams maintains a distinctive opinion about Meow Wolf’s role in the arts community. “I’d like to include my earlier quote to Westword, which safely summarizes a lot of my perspective,” Williams says. “My hope is that they do more to lift individual artists than to absorb them.”
Williams goes on to explain, “To expand on a piece of that; Is Meow Wolf authentic art? I think it’s important to separate the brand from the art for that question. Maximalism and the ironic sincerity of meta modernism are ultimately hollow when coming from a brand, because the vulnerable human point of self-reference isn’t sincere or simply doesn’t belong to it. It’s like the Wendy’s (fast food chain) twitter account being edgy. It doesn’t mean anything. I think there’s plenty of authentic art and artists in that space, and while the bigger, flashier, more profitable container may drive more traffic to it, the container isn’t the art, and corporations aren’t collectives.”
The Multimedia Creative
While artist Dice 51 currently lives in Denver, he is originally from Albuquerque, NM. While he begins most of his work with pens on plain paper, that’s hardly where it stays. The end result of his continued attention to any particular piece can result in p
Mar Williams was one of the first Denver artists to become involved with the corporate megalith, and has distinct opinions on art that is purveyed by big brands.
ens, pendants, wood stacks, laser-cut wood-stained pieces, and more.
Dice’s native New Mexican heritage prompted him to apply to be a Meow Wolf collaborator. “I first started working with Meow Wolf through the events team. I would organize live art and vendors for certain shows at the Santa Fe exhibit, bringing in artist friends from around the country to display their work,” he explains. “I grew up in Albuquerque, so as a local artist in New Mexico I knew I wanted to contribute to Meow Wolf. Eventually with [some] help I was able to apply for the Denver exhibit,” he says. “I spent close to three months working directly on my piece for the exhibit, and the application process was about two years long. I did most of the design and building in the months before installation, then spent two weeks installing the piece.
Dice contends that the experience was unique but positive. “I’ve never worked on something so big,” he begins. “Luckily, I got full creative control once my proposal was accepted, so I could really dive into the creative process without any outside influences. There’s so many people that were involved that I still haven’t met. The result was amazing, I still stumble on work that I’ve never seen there whenever I get a chance to wander.”
Part of Meow Wolf’s brand is intertwined art installments without signage or explanation, leaving uncredited collaborators to take solace in the fact that they got paid to be a part of something big and beautiful. While every artist is credited on the Meow Wolf website, some were determined to put their personal stamp on their work so that curious visitors could find them if necessary. “I wish I was able to attach my name to my project more,” Dice says. “I had to get creative with it, so I hid it all throughout the piece and had a full write up displayed with my pieces in the giftshop. Some other artists fou
Dice 51 next to his Meow Wolf collaboration. The New Mexico native-turned Denver resident relishes his experience contributing to Meow Wolf Convergence Station.
nd great ways to get their name on their piece. I know one had a giant symbol made of QR codes in his room, and the QR codes lead to his website. I think something like that is the best move, something subtle enough it doesn’t take away from the art, but direct enough to actually connect to the millions of people who go to the exhibit. I definitely see Meow Wolf as an art installment. It’s like a giant art piece that you can walk inside of and be a part of. From the exhibit as a whole, to the tiny details hidden throughout, the entire experience is led by artists.”
The Outsiders
Speaking of galleries, one local artist who has curated a prominent presence among the First Friday visual art crowd goes by the moniker of W. Max Thomason. He holds the Meow Wolf phenomenon in ho-hum regard, saying, “Simply put, it is commercial art. No matter what title, label, and/or designation you give it, it is only commercial art. It is not fine art. Nor do I think it should ever be considered fine art. In all fairness though, having never spoken with the designers, creators, or decision makers I cannot say if it was ever meant to be considered fine art, but I do think it should not be viewed or judged as thus,” he contends. “If it inspires, motivates, or speaks to someone, fantastic. It has never done so to me. I think [the] assessment of a modern, repackaging of amusement park-style entertainment is a fair and accurate elucidation.”
Meanwhile, while most of the art world is in some way concerned with Meow Wolf, there are those who remain blissfully unaware of any such phenomenon. One such individual is Abe Brennan — a Denver musician and illustrator, enjoying a post-2020/2021 windfall of design work creating T-shirt art for bands. When approached about Meow Wolf, he blinked, shrugged and said, “Huh? Meow what? Never heard of it.”
Regardless, should you aspire to experience this immersive experience firsthand, be prepared to pay a hefty admission fee. Tickets are priced at $44 to $49, depending on age. Get your money’s worth by choosing an early arrival time and plan on being there for at least a few hours. Then, prepare yourself for a wild, nonstop hyper-stimulating, one-of-a-kind ride. Whether you’re an artist or a spectator, this destination has something for everyone.
by Charles Bonniwell | May 20, 2022 | Main Articles
But Is It Really?
by Charles C. Bonniwell
Who’s The Real King? The Denver Post insinuated that Glendale is the Car Theft Capital of the U.S. in order to hide the fact that Denver by almost all metrics is the title holder.
Glendale brands itself as “Rugbytown USA,” the capital of rugby in the United States. Forty years ago, a book by Jack E. and Patricia A. Fletcher about Glendale was titled “Colorado’s Cowtown.” Today, thanks to a front-page article on “How did Colorado become one of the worst states for vehicle theft?” by John Aguilar, featuring a picture of Glendale City Hall which went national on MSN, Glendale is being called the auto theft capital of America.
How did a town which has relatively few auto thefts from its residents and even fewer cars stolen by its residents become the auto theft capital of America? Easy, stats. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, Colorado is the top state for per capita auto thefts with more than 500 vehicles per 100,000 residents. Glendale, in turn, has more auto thefts per resident than any other city in Colorado.
But Glendale, over the last four months through April, 2022, only had 79 auto thefts total which is not even a good night of auto thefts in metro Denver, which according to the Colorado Metropolitan Auto Theft Taskforce (C-MATT) the Denver metro area has on average nearly 100 vehicles stolen every day.
The article does sheepishly admit that the “unenviable designation is somewhat misleading given Glendale’s daytime influx of office workers and shoppers versus its residential population of approximately 5,200.”
“Somewhat misleading?” Glendale has a massive office and retail base compared to a small population. Pre COVID-19 pandemic, over 80,000 to 100,000 people per day came to Glendale according to Glendale city officials. The car thieves come overwhelmingly from metro Denver and steal cars of residents of metro Denver. As a practical matter since Glendale has only two single family homes, a large number of its residents take public transportation or ride shares and don’t even own cars to steal.
Why then stigmatize Glendale? Denver itself is, in fact, the auto theft capital of the United States by most metrics, but The Denver Post does not want to highlight that fact. It, in fact, can’t since it depends on the City and County government for subsidies to keep it profitable. Thus, talk about Glendale and its 79 car thefts in four months and skip over the thousands in Denver over the same period of time.
“It’s nothing new,” said Glendale Mayor Mike Dunafon. “The Denver Post and other media have at times, for decades, used Glendale as the punching bag to paper over any problems Denver is having.”
The mayor went on to state: “It’s not that we are unconcerned about the increase in auto thefts in Glendale and across the metro Denver area, but relatively speaking, car theft in Glendale happens far less than once per day on average. The changes in the state laws have resulted in car theft being viewed almost like jaywalking by some. Until the state rectifies what it has done, the problem will get worse. In Glendale and elsewhere if you are a person of modest means, having your car stolen means possibly losing your job, and making it hard to find a new job. I wish the State legislature and the justice system would care just a little bit more about the victims of car theft.”
Skyrocketing Thefts: Metro Denver saw a 107% spike in stolen vehicles from 2019 to last year.
Commander Mike Greenwald of C-MATT indicated that “97% of the people who have been arrested in the past three years for auto theft have multiple arrests for auto theft.” Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen told The Denver Gazette that: “We arrested one person six times for auto theft in 2021.” He pointed that Denver judges often release habitual car thieves to “personal recognizance” bonds, meaning they have to put up no funds and they just go back on the street and steal more cars.
An analysis of the “Colorado Crime Wave” by the Common Sense Institute in December of 2021, indicates that in Denver alone, personal recognizance bonds increased by 61% over the last two years and $0, $1 or $2 bonds by an incredible 1,879%.
Moreover, legal analyst Scott Robinson told 9News that “judges are reluctant to send car thieves to prison. Unless it’s fourth or fifth time unsuccessfully stealing cars.”
Glendale Police Captain Mike Gross indicates in Arapahoe County the backlog in the criminal system is so overwhelming that prosecutors will simply dismiss auto theft charges stati
Vehicle Theft Rate: Each of the 12 counties reviewed experienced an increase in their motor vehicle theft rate, although the range varied widely. While the motor vehicle theft rate only increased by 1% in Mesa County, it grew by more than 30% in six counties, including 46% in Pueblo, and 51% in Denver. Information obtained from the Common Sense Institute (commonsenseinstituteco.org)
ng they have more serious crimes to attend to.
Moreover, Captain Gross notes that Glendale, like almost every jurisdiction in metro Denver, has a “non-pursuit” policy where the police will not engage in a car chase for auto theft, so car thieves simply leave in the stolen car at top speed.
The Denver Post while acknowledging the complaints of law enforcement, gives strong support to the claims of so-called “reformers” such as Director of Advocacy for the ACLU Taylor Pendergrass, and State Representative Leslie Herod under the heading “Problem runs deeper.”
They blame the world-wide pandemic and problems that run deep in society. Herod stated that, “These things need to be addressed at their root cause.”
Mayor Dunafon laughed saying, “If we wait to address the car theft crisis in Denver and Colorado until we have solved all of the societal problems in the world as suggested by the Post we might just as well hand our cars over to the thieves. It would be so much easier and efficient.”
by Charles Bonniwell | May 20, 2022 | Editorials
June 28 is fast approaching which is primary day for both Democrats and Republicans. For Democrats it is no big deal. A few races with more progressives versus less progressives’ candidates, but very little controversy or heartburn. For the Republican Party it is the seismic clash between two wings of the party that has been going on for decades, and may spell the end of the Republican Party as a viable political force in the state, assuming it still is one.
Across the country, the establishment of the Republican Party personified by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and former President George W. Bush, are battling in primaries with former President Donald Trump advocates who believe the 2020 election was stolen. While today’s battle in Republican circles in Colorado has some of the same battle lines, the war is far deeper. The Colorado Republican Party has been controlled for over 50 years, if not longer, behind the scenes by businessmen like billionaire Phil Anschutz. They have always looked down their noses at the grassroots of the party who do almost all of the volunteer hard work for the party but have little money. They view them as crude and unsophisticated but then need them to till the fields like serfs in imperial Russia. To keep them in line, the Colorado Republican establishment uses a small army of consultants to whom no amount of viciousness and corruption is too much. They are always the overseers of the Colorado Republican plantation with bull whips in hand.
Pursuant to the Republican Bylaws, as re-written by the establishment, the party chair is almost all powerful over the state party organization and thus the establishment feels it must control that position. The grassroots have successfully elected the party chair in 2015 with Steve House and 2021 with Kristi Burton Brown over establishment candidates only to find the establishment was able to turn their candidates against them. In 2017 the grassroots appeared to be on the cusp of electing State Representative Susan Beckman as chair so the establishment, in a panic, went to Washington and rushed in Republican Congressman Ken Buck to be party chair. The fight for party chair was a truly dirty one by the establishment in which the grassroots believed the overseers consultants corrupted the proxy voting process and then destroyed dirty work evidence right after the election.
The Republican Party has a hybrid nomination process. You can get on the ballot if 30% or more of the delegates to the applicable assembly vote for you. Alternatively, you can pay a signature gatherer firm to get enough Republican signatures vis a vis a petition to get on the nomination ballot. It’s costly but establishment candidates far prefer it rather than having to talk and convince lowly delegates for their votes. In their view it is so much more civilized.
In this primary season, grassroots candidates won overwhelmingly in the respective congressional and state assemblies, with establishment candidates by and large gaining access to the ballot by petition. Because of a statewide referendum supported by establishment Republicans, unaffiliated voters get both a Republican and a Democrat ballot and can vote either one but not both, and the unaffiliated voters by numbers dwarf the number of Republican voters. Establishment candidates who have all the money hope by a dent of advertising dollars to overwhelm the grassroots with non-Republican voters to win the Republican nominations. If they don’t win a contest, they will refuse to contribute to any grassroots candidates in the general election and when they lose claim they were unelectable anyway in a general election.
The grassroots have indicated they have had enough and if establishment candidates win the positions, they will not do any of the grunt work to get them elected, thereby also dooming their chances in a general election. Phil Anschutz and the establishment are willing to call what they see as a bluff by the grassroots. Thus, even though with President Joe Biden having an approval rating in the 30s in Colorado, and the Republicans having their best chance in a long time, it may not make a difference. Set forth below are the key races in the Republican primary on June 28 with the leading grassroots candidates listed first in italics and the leading establishment ones in regular font so you can see on election night who prevails if you so desire.
Governor: Greg Lopez – Heidi Ganahl
U.S. Senator: Ron Hanks – Joe O’Dae
Secretary of State: Tina Peters – Pam Anderson
U.S. Rep (C.D. 3): Lauren Boebert – Don Coram
U.S. Rep (C.D. 5): Dave Williams – Doug Lamborn
U.S. Rep (C.D. 7): Laurel Imer – Erik Aadland
U.S. Rep (C.D. 8): Lori Saine – Barb Kirkmeyer
U.S. Rep (C.D. 5): Bob Lewis – Ken Buck
— Editorial Board
by Valley Gadfly | May 20, 2022 | Valley Gadfly
Fresh and alive, June is bustin’ out all over: To paraphrase the lyrics to Rogers’ and Hammerstein’s song: “You can see it in the ground, hear it in the trees, smell it in the breeze.”
For sure a cloud of doubtin’ Thomas’s is likely again predictin’ that this year summer will never come. But it’s coming: “You can feel it in your heart. Look around! Look around.”
To lift you into the blue sky, here are our choices for shopping, dining, and entertainment, so great white clouds keep floating by to bring you joy and happiness because it’s June:
3 Start June’s magic at the Lowry Beer Garden Benefit June 9, 5 to 9 p.m. You’ll enjoy food, libations, and ice cream at the Beer Garden and adjacent Rocket Ice Cream while supporting the Lowry Foundation. Information: 303-366-0144.
3 Dance into June at Secret Garden themed Storybook Ball at the Denver Botanic Gardens. The Ronald McDonald fundraiser is June 3. Information: 720-382-7203.
3 Select produce, flowers, products, and cuisine on Saturdays at Cherry Creek Fresh Market at 1st & University, June 4-24, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Information: 303-442-1837.
3 Annie Booth, Dawn Clement, and Carmen Sandim perform solo Piano Conversations at Dazzle@Baur’s June 14, 6 p.m. Information: 303-839-1500.
3 Hungry for fresh baked French-European breads, pastries, and sweets? Detour Bakery at 1479 S. Holly St. has yummiest treats in a cheery atmosphere. Popular spot also has delicious quiche and sandwiches. Information: 303-756-2020.
3 Get the home financing you need, when you need it with ChoiceLine from Bellco Credit Union. You can lock in up to three fixed-rate advances. Upshot: You can use the money as you need it. Apply on line. Information: 1-800-BELLCO-1.
3 It’s June, Denver Greek Festival time on the Greek Orthodox Cathedral campus, June 17-19. Enjoy Greek food, music, and dancing. Information: 303-388-9314.
3 The Dumm Friends League Band and the movie Happy Gilmore play Infinity Park June 24, gates open at 6 p.m. Information: infinityparkatglendale.com.
3 The former L’Chaim2Life confab returns as the Kavod on the Road Conference, June 9-10, 9 a.m. to noon. Day one is a kickoff concert with The Klez Dispensers and a resource fair at BMH-BJ on Monaco Parkway. Day two is at Temple Emanuel with keynote speaker Rabbi Laura Geller, author of Getting Good at Getting Older, speaking from 9 to 10 a.m. She is followed by a choice of three workshops from 10:15 to 11 a.m. Information:303-399-1146.
Half the year is gone, but hey, welcome June. Start by simply taking it easy and don’t rush things! As June begins to roll in you have to fall in love with summertime all over again.
A little bit of summer is what the whole year is about. Moreover, the warm days and cool nights common to the Cherry Creek Valley’s June climate are unmatched anywhere.
Everybody has something worthy to grow and celebrate, forget and forgive, rediscover, and appreciate this month. “Just because it’s June, June, June!”
— Glen Richardson
The Valley Gadfly can be reached at newspaper@glendalecherrycreek.com.
