Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

U. Oklahoma statue draws Colorado criticism
By Author
Oklahoma Daily, U. Oklahoma
March 13, 2009

A statue on the University of Oklahoma campus is turning heads and sparking controversy as far away as Denver.

A replication of the “Mustang,” a sculpture on the north side of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, has become part of a debate over the City of Denver’s decision to place an identical statue at the entrance of Denver International Airport in 2008.

The Denver statue stands four times taller than the one on campus, and is one of the first things travelers see as they drive up to the airport’s main terminal, said Erin Trap, director of cultural affairs for DIA.

She said the airport has received complaints about the glowing red eyes and the bucking horse’s exposed genitals facing oncoming airport traffic.

DIA opened in Feb. 1994 to replace the overcrowded Denver Stapleton Airport, and plans called for adding art to the property over time.

“We didn’t choose to be controversial,” Trap said. “The choice for a horse was made 16 years ago, when the airport was designed in the late 1980s.”

She said no one who currently works in the DIA art office had any part in the decision.

Denver residents petitioning to remove the sculpture created a Web site, byebyebluemustang.com, to help them organize.

“My 13 year old calls it ‘Sleeping Ugly,’” Adele Allen said on the Web site.

The site’s message boards are full of Denver residents’ complaints and even cartoons lampooning the statue.

“Take a look at Oklahoma University’s version of this abomination.” Denver resident Douglas Black posted on the Web site. “Look familiar? Looks like [sculptor Luis] Jimenez got paid twice for one bad idea. DIA just got the bigger, more hideous one of the two.”

“The rumors are true,” Trap said. “The artist was killed while making the statue, which is why some may refer to it as evil.”

Reports from the Lincoln county New Mexico sheriff’s department said Jimenez was working on the statue when a large piece fell on him and killed him.

The statue on campus was the inspiration for the one at DIA, and first arrived at OU in 1998.

Student reaction to the smaller on-campus horse is similar to the that of Denver residents.

“I still get shaky when I see it,” said Jonathan Curtin, University College freshman. “Especially at night, it just looks demonic.”

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