8/25/08
If you’re looking for my political leanings, you’re not going to find it here. The Democratic National Convention is being held in Denver from Aug. 25-28, 2008. To quote from today’s editorial page, “The DNC has brought history-in-the-making to Denver. Seeing and experiencing some part of that is a rare opportunity. Don't miss it." This is what it’s all about for me, with an emphasis on DNC art exhibits. Best link for art exhibit descriptions: Dialog:City
In the process, I’ll throw in a little of my history in Denver. I’ll start out by saying I was born and raised here. I moved to Wisconsin in 1982, to Huntington Beach, CA in 1984, back to Wisconsin the same year, then to Santa Rosa, CA the same year—that’s a whole story in itself, but we won’t go there now. My husband, son and I moved back to Denver in 1996. So here we are in Denver and here’s the blog about the experience
My son and volunteered for “host" duties for the DNC. The “hosting" is in conjunction with the Downtown Denver Partnership which is a liaison with businesses on the 16th Street Mall. The mall is about a mile long and closed to east-west traffic. Some streets go through the mall running north-south. It has a free mall ride that runs east-west
The 16th Street I remember was lined with swank department stores and movie theaters that used to have plush seating, colorful and gaudy outdoor marquees, fabulous lobbies and only showed one movie. You know, the place wasn’t divided into two levels like now.
16th Street Mall
How did this all come about? Well, he needs to accumulate service hours for his International Baccalaureate diploma for graduation this spring. This opportunity came about through his school.
We went to “training" on Sunday, Aug. 15. It was at Lannie’s Clocktower in downtown Denver. Lannie’s is a cabaret in what used to be the clock tower of a fancy shmancy department store. Lannie is Lannie Garrett, chanteuse extraordinaire from Denver. Fun fact: I used to live across the street from Lannie in the 70’s.
Lannie Garrett, Lannie's Clocktower Cabaret (add links)
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| S. Clarkson |
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| Lannie's Clocktower Cabaret |
“Training" consisted of telling us to be nice to people, help with directions, suggest restaurants—you get the picture. Actually, they really wanted people who are very familiar with downtown Denver. I didn’t get that email. I generally avoid downtown, any downtown, any city, like the plague. We got free t-shirts and caps. Very bright yellow t-shirts and caps.
I came home and did a lot of downloading of stuff about Denver.
Me
8/23
Driving to my check-in location we passed the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, our “theatre district". You can see where one of the lanes has been blocked off and Green Frontier Fest is.
“Hosting" First shift,2-4 p.m. Location: 16th & Stout You know, it’s hard to tell when someone wants help. You look someone in the eye and they look away. Some people smile. The first person we encountered wanted to directions to the Art Museum. I went blank—well, I was thinking of how I get there from my favorite parking area and walk, but this was going to be from the mall. I think she thought I was an idiot.
The next person marched up to me and wanted to know where a florist was because the one he just came from closed at two. Geeze, I hadn’t memorized the florists, but had my trusty guidebook and said I’d look one up. He said, “You’re supposed to know this." and stomped away. The next person wanted to know how to get back to her hotel. I didn’t know that one either, and she said the same thing to me. A group of cops showed up shortly after. She asked them the same question. They looked at each other and said, “Hey, anybody know where the Hyatt is?’ Ok, they were from one of the suburbs in Denver, so they get a pass. Anyway, I’m sure those two people were really impressed with their host. Geeze, I’m usually so good at telling people where to go and where to get off!
Thankfully, the last two people I talked with were volunteers from Chicago and I actually helped them and talked to them when I saw them again. For me, it was a good way to end the day.
Speaking of cops, they’re everywhere and they’ve been called in from everywhere. Right now, Denver is either the safest or most dangerous place to be. There are cops on foot, mountain bikes and horses. There are cops on rooftops, I saw a zillion of them at the Federal Reserve building—which interestingly is on the mall.
That first shift felt like the longest two hours of our lives. Ordinarily, I’d make my son show up to do what he’s signed up to do—you know the good example thing, but I just couldn’t do that to him this time. I said to my husband if I showed up in those two peoples cities and asked the same questions, would they have known the answer? He said to me, “Well, if you’re wearing a shirt that says ‘host’". Ok, point taken. I felt bad at the end of my shift, like I let the Downtown Partnership down, like I let the mayor down. I did more downloading—like the locations of the hotels around the mall.
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| Blocked Street (Speer Blvd. |
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| Performing Arts Center |
8/24/08
Hosting, Day 2
Location: 16th & Market
Depending on how you look at it, the start of the line or the end of the line. One street east of Market is Larimer. Larimer Street used to be skid row. Around 1965, Dana Crawford had a brainstorm to gentrify Larimer Street. My first job was stripping furniture for her. Yeow! She transformed Larimer Street to Larimer Square, great restaurants and shops. I got brain damage from furniture stripper fumes. She’s rich, I’m not!
One block west of Market Street is Blake Street. Go north and you’ll get to Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies. This area used be more of skid row. It was also where trains would unload freight. Now, it’s known as LoDo, or LOwer DOwntown. Very hip area of town, great restaurants, bars, condos and lofts.
Larimer Square, Coors Field (add links)
Ok, it was an exciting day! When I checked in, my group leader told me the mall ride was stopped because of the protestors. Earlier in the day, they had marched from the capital to the Pepsi Center (we call it “The Can")—it’s where all the hoopla for the DNC is happening. Normally, The Can houses the Nuggets (basketball), the Avalanche (hockey), or rock concerts. But now, the protestors were marching down the mall. During my two hour shift, they came by twice.
I couldn’t help thinking about the contrast between what I’d heard about censorship at the Olympics and seeing the protestors. Think about it.
Anyway, it was a mini-flashback to 1968, although not as scary. I marched in a peace parade near the Denver capital in the summer of ’68. It felt right, but it also felt scary.
The protestors are complaining about the police presence. The police are in front of them and behind them, but not stopping them from doing their thing. I can say my feelings about the police were different then from what they are now. Having a kid can change your views. I think my husband is worried about safety for me and my son. When I’m lucid, I do wonder if I’m exposing him to unnecessary danger. Nothing’s happened yet, but it’s early.
In any case, I actually helped people and had the mall drivers to talk to when they weren’t able drive up and down the mall. I bought some buttons from the button man, one that amused me and two that have Denver on them. The two hours went quickly.
Parking is a bit tricky, so my husband dropped me off and picked me up. He couldn’t get through to where I was, so I walked to where he was. We later found out there was another protest near where he was parked.
Pepsi Center (add link))
Protestors
Button Man
Ok, so this is sort embarrassing. I videoed the protestors, but I haven't figured out how to rotate it. I wanted you to have a sense of how it looked and sounded, so I'm adding it here. Maybe it's time for you to lay your head down anyway. You'll need Quicktime to play it. Go here if you need it: Quicktime
8/25/08
Went to an art gallery featuring portraits of Obama. Great stuff. I was able to take photos—I was surprised no one stopped me. I’ve got photos of some of my favorite pieces. Tomorrow I head to The Lab for another DNC-related exhibit. Should be a good one!
Manifest Hope
Thursday, 8/28, is a big day. A total 250 students, parents and faculty from my kid’s school will be volunteering at concession stands at Invesco Field, normally home of the Denver Broncos (football). Yep, we’ll be there to hear Al Gore and most especially Barak Obama’s acceptance speech.
8/26/08
Famous person spotted! Saw Rudy Giuliani on the plaza in front of the Denver Art Museum. He’d just come out of a gallery with an exhibit about terrorism. Not open to the public yet, as I found out the hard way, sorta.
Officious and Self-important: Two adjectives that describe some people at doorways and entrances
So I was so excited to see “Artificial Intelligence Is Better Than No Intelligence". Well maybe not. Here’s a link with a description, Artificial Intelligence
Sometimes it worked, but mostly it repeated, “Please speak into the microphone." And this I paid five bucks for, for a lousy 25 minutes. Yeah, I’m cranky about it.
Now I like Tilda Swinton as much as anybody, but the voice recognition software with her voice giving the answers was hard to understand. Mostly, the replies were nonsequitors.
There was a school group visiting when I got there. If I had to guess, I’d say they were 5th or 6th graders. Here are a couple of their questions and Dina’s answers.
Q: What is your position on gay marriage?
A: Do you live alone?
Q: What are your thoughts about gas prices?
A: I don’t want to talk about that now.
Here’s a short, short video:
It was about 9 million degrees today, my feet and brain were boiling. On my to “Hindsight" I was stopped by another protest, I think. These guys were dressed in camo, stopped and squatted like they were aiming weapons. I didn’t see a sign stating who they were.
Hindsight Is Always 20/20, here’s a description: Hindsight Is Always 20/20
I met the artist, Luke Dubois, while he and a small crew were repositioning the work. The work is exhibited on the west side of The Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA). There’s a park-like expanse there.
The exhibit curves around as a semi-circle. Here are a few photos:
Also exhibited at the DCPA is the Green Frontier Fest , where I stopped to have a cookie made in a solar oven, and toured the Xcel Energy Decathlon Solar Home, designed by students from the University of Colorado and saw the wind turbine.
Here’s some activity outside of the Convention Center, I’m not exactly sure what delegates or whoever have scheduled there. This is the day after Hillary’s speech, mind you.
Today I saw a group of teenagers inside the Denver Convention Center, all dressed up and earnest looking with DNC credentials. They were probably getting a really great educational experience. I’ll be with my kid and his school in a concession stand at Invesco probably saying, “Ya want fries with that?"
Trudging along on my way back to my car, I went through the park at Civic Center again. I think what’s happening here is called “The Marketplace" where vendors are vending—some sort of indie-ish, others corporate. I also think it’s where the protestors group. Speaking of protestors, I guess there haven’t been as many as expected. Ok, this is kind of a dumb thought, but I wonder if gas prices have affected them getting here. And I kinda think they don’t accumulate a lot of frequent flyer miles. Ok, it's just a thought.
Here are a couple of pictures of how things looked when I trudged through the first time on Sunday, Aug. 25:
And here are some pictures from Aug. 26. The first photo is of a couple of guys I talked to who are in Denver to make a documentary film about the protestors. I told them I teach in CA and was doing this blog for you, my dear students. We each thought each other was cool. I think they said the film production company is in Arkansas. Honestly, by the time I talked to them, my brain was pretty fried. They weren’t sure if they would be going to St. Paul next.
The next shot is of I guess what would be a mosque-like structure, very beautiful and some interior shots.
And finally, some shots of protestors’ props.
8/27/08
Today I went to see “Air Forest". It’s my favorite so far. Please go to the link to read about the artist, Minsuk Cho, this piece of work and his past work. Hopefully these links will be up for awhile because they tell you more about the work than I can. This link also has an aerial view of the piece.
When I first arrived at the location, the piece wasn’t fully inflated, so I have some “before" and “after" pictures. Apparently, it needs to be reinflated everyday. And yes, I have a little video of that. The track team or a PE class from East High School was running through the “forest".
I loved the texture of the fabric and when they were inflating it, I loved how it looked like it was breathing.
Another little video:
8/28, our anniversary, an historic event. I hope we don’t overshadow Obama.
Okay so today was going to be THE BIG DAY. Well, it still is for some 80,000 people, but not for me and my son. He woke up not feeling so great and I should’ve said, “Well, why don’t you stay home, instead?" But, I didn’t. And he thought he could make it through the day, but he couldn’t.
We got to Invesco Field nice and early. Got through security quickly—it wasn’t quite like airport security, we weren’t wanded like when I went to Bill Clinton’s book signing. There were some TSA people there helping. All the security people were very nice.
No one knew exactly what to do with our group, and the 300 of us all arrived at different times. So, it was probably three hours before we met up with our Invesco connection. By then, my son was looking pretty bad, he had called his dad, and he had a 1:00 p.m. doctor’s appointment. So, our day was done.
I have mixed feelings. I was so looking forward to being there for all the speeches. On the other hand, our booth was hot and we didn’t have a supervisor. So, not spending hours handing out hot dogs seems ok. Not hearing the speeches in person doesn’t. At the Tuesday night meeting, we were told that it was possible the tvs in the concession area might not be on when Obama spoke, because they wanted everyone—except concession workers—out on the field so when the tv cameras panned the field it would look FULL. I don’t know how things will pan out. It could be fantastic, it could be a bust. I wish I could tell you.
Getting back to where our car was proved to be a long adventure. There were shuttles going to Invesco from Coors Field, but they aren't running back until after the speech. It was hot again today, so the 2.1 mile walk felt awfully long, probably felt worse for my kid.
I took a few pictures with my phone when we first arrived, here they are:
Spotted John Oliver from the Daily Show. He had to carry his own stuff in and didn't have a limo driving him to the front! The guy was hoofing it.
Tomorrow I’ll see one more art exhibit and have that for you.
new stuff!
8/29
First, here’s what I’ve heard about working/volunteering at Invesco during the speeches. It was a flog. One person said she ended up working from 7:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. with a break to hear Obama. But, she only got that break because she sort of mutinied. She actually had to go back later and clean up the stand she’d worked in. I’ve talked to two others who said their work experience was the same. The other two said they got to see Obama as well and that it was worth it, sorta. After his speech, the other two had to go back to their booths and clean up too. I’ve heard “slave labor” more than once. (And yeah, “Ya want fries with that?” may have been an appropriate question.) They also didn’t get to hear the other speakers or the entertainment because the t.v.s were off.
Partly Sunny
Okee dokee. So this is actually the second to last DNC-related exhibit I’ll see. This one is presented by the Rhode Island School of Design. Please use the link to get all the info about it. I have to admit that one of the reasons I wanted to check it out was because David Byrne (Talking Heads) had gone to RISD.
The exihibit showcases a variety of projects that have been done around the world to promote environmental sustainability.
I have photos, but they’re just of the entryway and informational panels, so I’ll save the bandwidth and instead encourage you check this link: Partly Sunny, Press Kit
The following were among the more interesting to me: Denver- Water Recycling & Urban Redevelopment, San Francisco – carbon offset purchases, Google and PG&E – testing vehicle-to-grid technologies that permit the utility to draw electricity from the car; Rotterdam – A Dance Club that converts dancing into kilowats, and London- Congestion Pricing, costs more to drive in high traffic areas.
Teaching moment!
I had a short discussion with one of the younger staff members about art and politics. He felt that art and politics was a new idea, that there hadn’t been a connection til now. Hmm, time for RISD to upgrade the Art History classes, maybe!
This link discusses how images can be used to convey political messages.
SmARThistory, Goya, Politics, & The Power of Images
Remember when I said I saw Rudy Guiliani on the plaza in front of the Denver Art Museum (DAM)? Here are some photos of the plaza, a partial shot of the DAM, and the exterior of The Cell. The exhibit opens on Tuesday, Sept. 2.
Here’s a link to The Cell
Buttons: “End of an Error” and “Barack in the Day” (I’ll try to photograph that one again) from the aforementioned Button Man.
The little button was a purchase from the Manifest:Hope gift store, the two round buttons that feature Denver in some way, from the Button Man. The other round button from one of the mom-volunteers at Invesco. The packet of sunflower seeds, a freebie from The Market Place at Civic Center.
Here are photos of stuff that I was handed while cruising the 16th Street Mall as well as my official “Vendor” ID for my brief stint at Invesco. Oh yeah, I was handed a free sample of Scrubbing Bubbles toilet cleaner by someone dressed in white with white balloons attached to her person. I guess the convention is over. :-)
Five Points, Denver
My family lived here, near Five Points, until I was eight. There are four apartments here. We lived upstairs on the left.
Free Stuff:
DenverCrat and link to their stuff, DenverCrat Stuff
Sneak Peek
The exhibit at the Robischon Gallery will be up for a while so, I’ll take a little breather and see it later. I certainly won’t be able to photograph the pieces, so check the following links to learn more about the exhibit and see the work.
Robischon Gallery
Dialog:Denver, Robischon Gallery Exhibit Info
My Yard Our Message
Dialog:Denver
Update: Aug. 30, 2008
