Herbert Bayer

Herbert Bayer was seemingly good at everything he touched. He was a graphic designer, painter, photographer, art director, architect and interior designer. Born in Austria in 1900, Bayer trained at the famous Bauhaus in Germany. Eventually he made his way to the United States and settled in Aspen in 1946, where he remained until his death in the mid 80s.

It is no surprise that my first encounter with the work of Bayer was in college; someone of his vast talents doesn't go unmentioned. A few summers ago I was invited to a back of the house tour at the Denver Art Museum where I learned their collection holds about 8,000 pieces of his work. As I wandered around their private galleries with a huge smile on my face I became more fascinated with Bayer...I mean, they even had his original architectural model of the Articulated Wall.

I drive past the Articulated Wall multiple times a day working in the Denver Design District, where this massive structure is at home. The original developer of Design Center commissioned Bayer for this after seeing the original and smaller version of the sculpture at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.

From what I've gathered the people of Denver either love or hate the Articulated Wall. I get it, its a gigantic yellow sculpture that is sometimes called the "french fry thing along I25." To some it is just not visually appealing. As an art lover, I personally think it is massively spectacular in its geometric minimalism. This is not your everyday sculpture. As the distant fate of the Denver Design District remains in question, the design community is concerned about the sculptures future. There has been reports of new development starting in the surrounding land and speculation on what will happen to the District. I wouldn't be too worried; the piece is said to weigh two million pounds and the 41' x 5'2" x 27" pieces of concrete (32 of them) is held together through the center with refueling mast used for aircraft carriers. No way the Articulated Wall is going anywhere. Good work Bayer ;)