The First Friday Of October

I was late getting to the First Friday event on Denver's Santa Fe Drive this month, and the first thing I realized when I got there is that I have been attending this month art walk WAY too early.  I usually show up around 6:00, and the crowds always seemed a bit sparse.  This time I arrived around 8:00, and the streets and galleries were packed.  One of the more popular galleries seems to be the Denver Art Society, which by far has the most artists in attendance, and also has a stage where musicians perform each month.  In the photograph on the left, a young woman is performing in front of a painting of what seems to be a demon in outer space.  And I am sure it is for sale if you have the right spot for it in your house.  Give them a call.

Just next to the Denver Art Society building is Metamorphus, which features on it's walls the seven symbols of metamorphus, one of which can be seen in the photograph on the right, in front of which appears to be several people kneeling at an alter.  These works are the product of Matt Worldly, and there was actually a DJ at the front of the place spinning appropriately mystical tunes.  There was a fairly long line to get into this gallery, and I believe Matt himself was handing out brochures explaining these seven symbols.  I don't think the artwork is for sale, and so I am not sure how this place makes it's money.  Perhaps they offer classes. Once again, feel free to google the place and find out if spaces are available.

One of my final stops was the Center for Visual Art of the Metropolitan State University of Denver, which for the third month in a row was featuring an exhibit called Collectivism.  These are the works of various groups (collectives), one of which produced the work on the left, which boldly asks you to "tell your secrets."  The two guys in the photo seem to be saying that they like to pose in front of truly bad artwork with open umbrellas.  Didn't anyone every tell these guys that open umbrellas inside a building is bad luck? Obviously not.

I don't mean to suggest that all the art on display here is weird.  There are a lot of galleries that feature some fairly decent pieces, mostly abstractions, but very colorful ones, such as in the photograph on the right.  This gallery was originally the Denver Art Collective, or some such name, which closed it's doors earlier in the year. However, a new gallery reopened here fairly recently, and what with a new gallery opening in the space formerly housing John Fielder's Photography Gallery, as well as a few others, the vacancies on Santa Fe that I noticed earlier in the year have disappeared.  And one more important fact - the gallery in the photograph has the best location on Santa Fe, right next to where all the food trucks park. These trucks and close by Renegade Brewing Company still remain, as far as I can tell, the most popular attraction of all.