About This Piece

Until 2003, Denver’s various City departments were spread around the City at various locations. This meant doing business with the City was a multi-stop experience. The consolidation of Denver’s agencies into a one-stop location has not only saved the City money, it has created a place where we can base an understanding of how the City works.

With this in mind, the City selected a location for Wellington E. Webb Municipal Building adjacent to Civic Center Park. The addition of the Webb building to the Civic Center landscape brought together all the agencies that work to build the city and to administer the ordinances that define city life.

The Public Art Program for the Webb Building was based on this set of understandings.

Twelve artists were hired to each do an artwork for one of the floor’s elevator landings. Each artist was asked to create a unique work that represented an important element of Denver and its place on this landscape.

From the bottom to the top the artists are:
First Floor: Darrell Anderson, “Workers”
Second Floor: Sue Quinlan, "Antiquities and Revisited”
Third Floor: Bonnie Lhotka, “Whole Life”
Fourth Floor: Steve Altman, “Civic Centerized”
Fifth Floor: Darrell Anderson, “Construction”
Sixth Floor: Bill Starke, “Ascent”
Seventh Floor: Scott Greenig, “South Gateway”
Eighth Floor: Nathaniel Bustion, “Inter Spirit of the Created Colorado Vision”
Ninth Floor: Oyedele Oginga, “The Ensemble”
Tenth Floor: Jim Colbert, “Civic Center Floating Island”
Eleventh Floor: Daniel Salazar, “Grand Poobah & Office Fairy cut through red tape”
Twelfth Floor: Judith Trager, “Canyon Walls”

Artist's Statement:
The series of bas-reliefs is focused on creating a world of fused symbolism and icon imagery taken from many cultures. I hope to show that, as we incorporate diversity into our lifestyles, we enrich our own world. My concept of diversity includes examinations of different time periods and cultures. Exposure to these images, and witnessing their harmony in various artistic media, can teach tolerance and the need to embrace our differences. Understanding between diverse groups will be increasingly important in the new millennium, since global communication and understanding will become more vital. 

I hope to find the world ahead harmonious and evolved, and as an artist I feel I can help pave the way. In showing the synthesis of diverse images, I hope my audience will see a positive future that he or she can help create. 

The project consists of bas-reliefs made of concrete and steel. Each of the ten panels is a fusion of symbols and icons of each chosen culture, taking on the appearance of artifacts. To unify the panels, one design element runs throughout the panels, made of a rust patina steel frame with concrete icons and symbols.