Model State: A Local Cosmology is the recently installed public artwork, in the newly built Colorado Convention Center, by Lakewood, Colorado artist, John McEnroe. The artwork is located on the walls of the second floor mezzanine walkway, and is easily seen from 14th Street, through the glassed facade of the Convection Center. John McEnroe has a Masters in Fine Arts from Ohio Sate University. He is represented by the + Gallery in Denver Colorado. His works are in the collections of the Denver Art Museum, The University of Kansas and numerous private collectors. Mr. McEnroe has also been commissioned by the City of Denver for the Green Valley Ranch School’s public art.

Below is John McEnroe’s brief description of his artwork, Model State: A Local Cosmology:

There are three wall mounted constructions, each measuring 16’x24’x8’ (dimensions variable). The materials are polyester resin and fiberglass coating; over hand modeled and cast forms. Fiberglass tubing and metal brackets are also used. All elements are painted entirely in flat black. All three pieces are located in generally the same area on the 14th St. side lobby, exhibition level. One of the pieces hangs dramatically over a stairwell and the other two flank the main entrance to the vast convention hall.

The construct of each piece is similar to that of a snap-apart sprue system found in toy model car kits. Instead of car parts, there are objects that are relevant to the state of Colorado. Some objects in the piece refer to the land (no mountains though). Some refer to industry, the people, our history and prehistory, other art works, and some objects are less identifiable. The system of tubing, elbows and “T’s” that connect the objects together, in composition, are both physical and metaphorical. Through the use of physical connections, the notion of connectedness and interdependence is brought to bare among the disparate facets of Colorado.

To bring some cohesion to the many different aspects of our state, each of the three pieces has a title and a theme. The first is- Marking the Land. It focuses on the way people, animals, industry and others have marked the landscape. The second is- Survival. This piece concentrates on the species, past and present, who have played a pivotal role in shaping the identity of Colorado. And third is- Artifacts. This is the most abstracted of the three because its objects mimic some of the icons in our state.

Some of the parts are readily identifiable, such as a man with a shovel seen in Marking the Land. There are other objects which suggest things seen in our local collective memory. For example, one form in Artifacts could either be a snow fence or a railroad trellis. There really is no end to the possible objects to include, so I decided to consolidate several forms into one in an effort to broaden the scope and add interest to the work. In the context of connectedness, these objects live a life within a model kit as well as standing alone. It is my hope that Model State is a successful mingling of pride, history and contemporary issues.