Articulated Wall by Herbert Bayer

Looking at this makes me hungry for French Fries.

I’m pretty sure this is the first piece of public art I ever truly noticed in Denver during my first visit here. I viewed it from I-​25 as we were heading up to the mountains. I asked my friends what it was and they had no idea but they thought it might have something to do with Legos. It was several more years before I saw the wall up close and learned more about it.
It’s quite an interesting story. The sculpture is a replica of one that was built for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. The Denver version, standing at 85 feet tall, is taller than the original’s 60 foot height. It’s made of concrete and is held together through the middle with a refueling mast taken from an aircraft carrier. I imagine it was quite an undertaking to put together.
I like the way the bright yellow wall can be clearly seen on the sunniest of Colorado days or stands in contrast to the sky during a snow shower or a summer rain storm. Plus it gives us something fun to ponder on the drive down I-​25.

Its big and yellow and doesnt have feathers… but it still makes me smile!
What really makes this beauty stand out is not the height or color but the contrast to the local surroundings.
If this were downtown, near the DCPA Sculpture garden, this would be just another cool feature but down south in the classless oasis bordering the burbs and commercial wasteland of the Alameda area this beautiful piece of art brings a sense of culture and flare.
I personally love that many of the RTD Lightrail stops have some measure of art incorporated into their being… it makes it more about the people and less about the machines!
Amen!

What is this? I don’t get it. I noticed it almost immediately when I moved to Denver, and you can’t miss it taking the train down town. I also just saw some commercials on TV for the Denver Design District and the yellow stack of rectangles was the logo. I found that a bit strange. Not sure what it has to do with interior design.

I didn’t realize this was «public art». I thought it was a marker for a Lego store or Danish furniture store. Isn’t public art is suppose to beautify or be something semi-​curious or thoughtful. To me, it’s not, but maybe I just don’t understand it.

Long have I seen the Yellow Stack of Rectangles from my visits to Denver and when I lived there. Since Broadway was one of my favorite streets to hang out at I often did see the stack of yellow when I went home or went along I-​25. Not only is it a landmark along Broadway but it gives me a sense of nostalgia since I no longer live in Denver and therefore cannot go to Broadway as much. As for the structure itself I do like the three dimensional like texture to the triangles. Yellow can be a bit alarming but never did this sculpture throw me into fits of dismay.

When I first moved to Denver, I didn’t know a single soul and had no clue how to find my away around the city. It was just me and my dog, all alone in a strange new world.
All I knew, as we adventured our way around our new town, was that we lived near that Big Yellow Thing. If we could find our way to the Big Yellow Thing, we could find our way home from there. Lucky for us, the Big Yellow Thing was visible from… well… everywhere.
Later I’d come to learn that we lived in a neighborhood known as Wash Park. Cool, whatever. It wasn’t the park that I could see from the highway. It wasn’t the park that was guiding me home day or night. It wasn’t the park that was my shining beacon, my glowing port in an unfamiliar storm. Nope… it was the Big Yellow Thing. So… thanks for that.

JUST BECAUSE I DON’T CARE DOESN’T MEAN I DON’T UNDERSTAND, or is it the other way around? This public artwork infuriates me. Can you make something more yellow? Who wants to see tinker toys this big? Does the artist think he’s being clever? Did he mean for it to look like giant french fries? Is this supposed to provoke some kind of response from me?
All it does for me is tell me I’m near the design center. I hope it doesn’t represent the designers who work there.
Also known as an «articulated wall» by the artist, Herbert Bayer’s. This work was erected in 1968, and has 33 «steps.» The artist moved from Austria to Aspen so I have to give him credit for at least being a Colorado artist. He later became known as the «hero of horticulture.» He designed parks and landscapes for Aspen, in the ’70’s, and we all love Aspen. Maybe in the 60’s people got his work.