Blue Mustang

Blue Mustang

Blue Mustang, known to locals by the disparaging name Blucifer,[1][2] is a cast-fiberglass sculpture of a mustang located at Denver International Airport. Colored bright blue, with illuminated glowing red eyes, it is notable both for its striking appearance and for having killed its creator Luis Jiménez when a section of it fell on him at his studio.[1]

Blue Mustang was one of the earliest public art commissions for Denver International Airport in 1993. The sculpture was based on the eight-foot-high sculpture Mesteño (Mustang), on display at the University of Oklahoma.[3] Standing at 32 feet (9.8 m) tall and weighing 9,000 pounds (4,100 kg) including its steel armature,[4] Blue Mustang is located in the median of Peña Boulevard.[5] Jiménez died in 2006 while creating the sculpture when its head fell on him and severed an artery in his leg.[1] At the time of his death, Jiménez had completed painting the head of the mustang. The sculpture was completed with the help of the artist's staff, family, and professional race-car painters Camillo Nuñez and Richard LaVato. Upon completion the sculpture was sent to California for assembly and then shipped to Denver. Blue Mustang was unveiled at Denver International Airport on February 11, 2008.[4]

The sculpture has been both widely disparaged[6][7] and defended.[8] In 2009, Denver real estate developer Rachel Hultin attracted some media attention when she launched a Facebook page opposing Blue Mustang.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Blucifer, the Murderous Mustang of Denver Airport". Slate. 2014-03-17. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2016-08-06.
  2. ↑ Rinaldi, Ray Mark (December 24, 2015). "American art essay: People in Colorado love to argue about art". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2016-08-07.
  3. ↑ "Luis Jiménez, Mesteño, 1997". Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, University of Oklahoma. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
  4. 1 2 "Mustang/Mesteño by Luis Jiménez". City of Denver. Archived from the original on July 31, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Mustang". Denver International Airport. City & County of Denver Department of Aviation. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Despite criticism, airport's 'Devil Horse' sculpture likely to stay". NBC News. 4 March 2013. Retrieved 2016-08-06.
  7. ↑ Johnson, Kirk (2009-03-01). "Many Just Say Neigh to 'Blue Mustang' at Denver Airport". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-08-07.
  8. ↑ "Keep remarkable "Mustang" sculpture at DIA". The Denver Post. February 6, 2013. Retrieved 2016-08-06.
  9. ↑ Leanne Goebel (2009-03-16). "What We Can Learn from Denver's "Blue Mustang"". Retrieved 2016-02-20.

Coordinates: 39°50′03″N 104°40′35″W / 39.83414°N 104.67638°W / 39.83414; -104.67638

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