Denver born artist Douglas Kornfeld’s newest installation, Meeting of the Minds, for the City of Denver 1% for the arts program, is located next to the City Park Golf Course Club House, near the corner of 26th and York Street. The artwork consists of two heads, fabricated in steel, one over 16’ feet high, painted bright red. Douglas Kornfeld’s statement about his work:

“The upright head depicts the profile of an African-American woman looking out to the adjacent North Denver neighborhood. The second head, with the profile of a generic male, appears to be sinking into the ground. In the head of the woman there is an oval that, from a distance, looks like a brain. Upon closer examination the “brain” is filled with a jumble of figures similar in style to the international male and female symbols. These figures are quite different from the usual male and female icons we see every day. They depict men and women in a variety of different shapes and sizes rather than the standardized and stereotypical way. These are thin, fat, tall, short, muscular, and portly etc.... Some even have different sized heads alluding to different ways of thinking.

The head of the male figure is filled with the standard international male and female icons we see every day. They are lined up in precise rows male, female, male, female. This arrangement symbolizes a corresponding regimentation of thinking. As world culture has acquiesced to the use of these figures to portray all people. We can see that more and more they fail to truly represent who we really are. By juxtaposing these two heads I seek to portray different ways of thinking and stimulate a dialog about symbols and how they affect our perception of: diversity, stereotypes, and identity.”

All photographs courtesy of artist.

Douglas Kornfeld was also commissioned by RDT(Regional Transportation District) to produce a public artwork for the Denver Civic Center Bus Station, and is currently working on a large steel sculpture commissioned by the City of New Haven, CT.

To learn more about the artist, and to see how the Meeting of the Minds was fabricated and installed, please visit www.awaka-inc.com