AURORA | Denny Haskew’s original vision included giant stone faces, bright beams of light and sculptures that would invite hands-on interactions from passing pedestrians.
Haskew, a Loveland-based sculptor, proposed those plans for the massive public art piece at Alameda Avenue and Interstate 225 more than 10 years ago. His concept of an illuminated piece that straddled the highway bridge and encouraged viewers to touch and feel the artwork was grandiose. That grand scale didn’t stop Aurora’s Art in Public Places Committee from signing on to the ambitious plan.
It was a nix from Mayor Paul Tauer that ultimately derailed it.
In 2003, city crews installed a substitute sculpture by Haskew, the massive bronze and limestone work titled “Aurora Dawn” that still keeps watch over the stretch of Interstate 225 at Alameda Avenue. The sculpture depicts a long-haired woman holding a bright flame fashioned in bronze. According to Haskew, the figure and the gold flame represents the dawn; the city’s logo featuring the sunrise inspired the aesthetics and the design.
The whole process reinforced lessons Haskew has learned during a long career working on public art.
“There’s always controversy on a public piece,” Haskew said. “It’s probably like running for a political office. There are people who can see what you’re after and people who oppose it.”
The city’s AIPP commission is tackling those same tricky questions as construction rapidly progresses on the new light rail line set to run along I-225, from the current terminus at Parker Road all the way to I-70.
This time, there’s little room for delay. Because of the specific construction timetable attached to the RTD FasTracks project, AIPP and city officials have to quickly decide the aesthetic future of Aurora’s stretch of light rail.
“It’s a quick schedule,” said Mary Koernig, public art coordinator for the city. “We want to use public art as a tool to identify the Aurora line. We want people to know they’re in Aurora.”
That involves a lot more than finding an artist and a design. It means working with a slew of city, community and RTD officials to address a number of issues. For the Peoria roundabout, for example, any piece of public art can’t be too inviting or tactile for risk of attracting pedestrians and putting them at risk from the heavy traffic. Because of specific rules regarding light rail stations, any art at Colfax has to be on walls or under the highway bridge itself.
Both pieces have to conform to basic rules about placement so they don’t interfere with water lines, power lines or other utilities.
“We have to make sure that we’ve accounted for all of those issues while we’re choosing our site,” Koernig said.
For both sites, that’s meant getting input from engineers and city planners as well as community members and art experts. And for both projects, the clock is ticking. The $35,000 Peoria Crossing sculpture — funded through the city’s 1 percent public art appropriation on construction, remodeling and renovation budgets that run more than $100,000 — will be installed in June.
The timetable and funding for the Colfax station project is a bit different. The money for the Colfax artwork comes through the city’s larger budget for the Colfax light rail station. According to Koernig, the city budgeted $300,000 for Colfax station artwork in the 2014 budget, in addition to $100,000 for maintenance over the next 25 years. The precise timetable for the final installation hasn’t been finalized, but Koernig said the goal is to bring a finalist before the Aurora City Council by June.
“This one has a longer process because the budget is over $50,000,” Koernig said.
Both projects require sifting through a massive number of applications. Artists from across the United States have applied to design what’s bound to become a signature aesthetic in the city. These pieces will define the city’s look for commuters from across the metro area as they take the light rail through Aurora. The pair is just the beginning. AIPP officials are also looking at plans for the parking structure that’s eventually set to sit at I-225 and Iliff.
All of these projects carry specific challenges, as artist Denny Haskew discovered more than a decade ago.
“Public art is tricky not just because people may not like it,” said Loretta Daniel from the city’s Planning and Development Services Department. Daniel has had a key role in finalizing locations for the latest duo of public art projects. “It has to have enough substance and volume to stand out. Sometimes you think something is attractive but you end up on the site and it’s too thin or small.
“It’s actually quite difficult to put something in the space and make it really read well,” she added.