Pianos, Mandalas & Sea Scenes Dominate Park Hill Alleys
7th Annual Alley Art Contest Yields Creative Flair
By Jack and Pam Farrar
The Park Hill Alley Art Contest is now in its 7th year of celebrating alleys and the people who decorate and beautify them. It attracts artists, professional and non-professional, who employ increasingly creative materials and themes enhancing quasi-public spaces with benign three-dimensional graffiti.
Generous Park Hill merchants provided gift certificates or memberships as prizes in our modest competition, including Oblio’s, Spinelli’s, the Museum of Modern Art, the Park Hill Community Bookstore and the Art Garage. There were eight notables this year.
Andrew Sweet welded and bolted together a car-length metal installation on a metaphorical five-line musical staff – “Combinations and Permutations” – on the fence behind his residence on the northeast corner of 19th and Leyden.
Sweet is a professional sculptor, who also has a psychology practice. Specializing in metal and stone abstract pieces, Sweet works out of his studio, Ironton Galleries, in the hot RiNO art district north of downtown. In addition to Sweet’s alley art, visitors to the residence will get a kick out of other concept sculptures in the yard (really, a sculpture garden), and an intriguing Little Library.
“Talent,” says Sweet, “is persistence.”
A while back a neighbor told Roger Layton and Randy Billinger, that she was “tired of looking at their blank fence” on the west side of 2090 Krameria. This candid observation led to Roger and Randy to create fence art that few could ignore.
In fact, the fence, and the whole yard (front and back) is a real trip. Much of the art comes from piano parts, many obtained via the Internet. Among the parts: a hearth, keys, strings and pedals. Other materials include braided fabric and bright silk flowers.
One of the more intriguing pieces in their front yard is an antique wheat grinder. In the backyard, we are told, is a baby grand piano that has been converted into a fountain.
It works. Far out.
There is an irresistible funkiness about an installation behind 3395 Grape. St. Love Bird (yes, that is her name) and family have assembled a kind of mandala consisting of a round wood tabletop, painted in a tie-die-fashion, with spokes of tables legs, chair legs and miscellaneous wood strips rotating in the center.
Much of this is spray-painted gold and red. In front is a purple wave effect. On the left is a bare branch painted green. It works. Far out.
A strange little mummy
One of the best garage murals we’ve discovered in Park Hill is behind 1730 Albion St., where Elin Kondrad has painted a marvelous sea scene – including a whale, jellyfish, starfish, moon, stars, waves and palm tree. Makes you want to pull up a beach chair and sip a piña colada.
The garage behind 1708 Colorado Blvd., owned by Karey and Matt James, features retired sports equipment used by Matt, including skateboards, a snowboard, and scooter parts. The backyard, in addition to some chickens, features an interesting cinderblock wall, built by Matt and painted by Karey. Materials on the south side of garage include skis, a strange little mummy, golf balls, and horseshoes.
The youngest artists in this year’s competition were Ryan (5) and Kate (2) Van Skoik. Mother Ali tells us that they were thrilled to be considered and plan to continue expanding an installation on a fence behind their house at 2091 Hudson St. that includes a door and parts of a crib – all donated by past contest winner J.R. Ewing and all comprehensively painted. The door has distinctly different scenes on each of five panels.
Funky sort-of-Goth art can be found behind 1721 Quince St. Karen Kaiser invited us to see her blue guitar with embedded doll, and wreath. We’re glad we did. Neat house, by the way, turn-of-the-century.
Finally, Peggy Streit has assembled several dozen interesting items on the fence along the south side of her home at 2950 Bellaire St., some with gardening/nature themes.
Get on your bike and visit these alleys – as well as those highlighted in the sidebar. And, consider what you might create between now and next year’s contest. If you would like more information about alley art, contact us at denverfarrar@comcast.net.