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brileigh
@brileigh
During my final Uber to the airport yesterday, I decided to learn about the Blue Mustang and its dark history. Looming outside Denver’s airport, a 32-foot-tall mustang watches travellers come and go with its glowing red eyes fixed on the horizon. Commissioned by the city of Denver, The Blue Mustang, colloquially known as Blucifer, was meant to be a symbol of the West. Instead, it became a legend of misfortune when it turned on its own creator. Artist Luis Jiménez was hired to design a sculpture representing the Midwest with a budget of $300K. The city originally wanted a buffalo stampede but scrapped the idea given the history of the species being hunted to near-extinction. Jiménez proposed a mustang instead, a symbol of the Midwest and a nod to early travel. The piece was inspired from a stallion he owned named Black Jack, a blue Appaloosa, with its glowing eyes paying tribute to his father’s work in a neon sign shop.
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Drew Volpe
@drew
Apparently people hated it at first but “Denver Art Policy requires commissioned public art to remain in place for at least 5 years before considering removal requests, which helped the sculpture weather initial backlash.”
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brileigh
@brileigh
Its true! And no one has petitioned its removal since the 5 year mark 🐴
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