Standing outside the Colorado Convention Center, on 14th Street between California and Stout in Denver, is a 40-foot (12.192 meters) Blue Bear Sculpture that peers into the center's windows.
The official name for the sculpture is "I See What You Mean," and it is a popular Denver Public Art sculpture that has been peering into those windows since 2005.
Sculpted by artist Lawrence Argent, the structure is clad in polymer-concrete and depicts an American black bear standing on its hind legs, peering into the Convention Center's lobby. Argent's decision to sculpt a bear was based on the wildlife native to the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The black bear is the only species of bear currently found in the mountain range, and is seen by many as a symbol of the region. According to Wikipedia, Argent was inspired specifically by a newspaper photo of a bear peering through someone's window, which he stated "resonated with him."
Artist Lawrence Argent did not originally intend the bear sculpture, made of steel, polymer, and concrete, to be vividly blue! In fact, the blue color was a complete accident. Originally, the bear was going to reflect the colors of Colorado in shades of sandstone, but a printing error for its prototype showed Argent just how remarkable this piece could be in a bold hue, reflecting Denver's deep blue skies.
Inside the wonderful History Colorado Center, there is a smaller replica of the Big Blue Bear peering in a window that children can stand in front of in an exhibit called "Denver A to Z."
My grandchildren are almost all teenagers now, but they loved to visit this very "hands-on" museum when they were little, and this photo collage shows three of them excited to stand in front of the bear.
Blue sculptures in Denver seem to be a theme... a few months ago, I blogged about another iconic giant blue sculpture of a Mustang that stands along the road as one approaches or departs Denver International Airport in this post.
In the History Colorado Center is a colorful replica of the "Welcome to Colorful Colorado" road sign that greet travelors of as they cross into Colorado from over 3 dozen major highway locations. These signs have greeted visitors since 1950!
There are many wonderful places to visit in Denver--I hope you'll come for a visit someday soon!
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29 comments:
Lovely and interesting blue sculptures
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The blue bear is cool. I've seen the Welcome to colorful Colorado sign a few times!
All the best.
Debra @ Life Captured
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Love the big blue bear and the lovely horse. Fabulous sculptures. Colorado certainy is colourful. It has been great learning about your state since you moved from NY. We have friends who live there. Bernard Schrag, is a Swiss Chef, and a ski instructor. He is married to a New Zealander. Their children have grown up in Colorado and are now in University.
This big, big blue bear is greatful. Inside and outside the building. Do you know, that the bear is the symbol animal for Berlin?
I enjoyed reading here very much, its interesting for me. Thank you for sharing at MosaicMonday
Greetings by Heidrun ❤️
Hello Pat,
I love that big blue bear looking into the window. The horses sculpture is beautiful too. Take care, enjoy your day and the new week ahead.
When I first saw the photo of the bear, it startled me. Then, I realized it was a huge sculpture. Love it!!! #MMBC
That is one big bear, and curious too. Made me smile.
Amalia
xo
Public art is always enjoyable. For his size, still a cute bear!
You represent your state so well! Love the blue bear!
That bear would give me a fright if I didn't know what it was!
Oh wow! That bear is is so cool and the mustang is stunning!
I love that big blue bear!
Ah yes, the Big Blue Bear. I remember him well. But I did not know the story of how he came about, so thank you.
Not a fan of the blue stallion at DIA.
A wonderful history lesson about the Big Blue Bear. I love it. Sad about the stallion though. I didn't know this.
It's been years and years since I've visited Denver. So long that we flew into the old airport. The new one was being built. That was long ago.
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I had no idea Denver had a giant blue bear!
What a fun and unexpected piece of public art.
I love learning these little stories from your posts, Pat -- now I’ll always think of Colorado with a curious bear peeking in windows. 💙🐻
Love your photos.
I like the blue bear! Thanks for sharing this.
That's so cool! Did you Rhode Island has a Big Blue Bug?
...thanks for including the person in the second photo, it helps to give scale to this HUGE bear!
I'm a Coloradan and I love Denver's blue bear. I received a small version as a gift a few years ago and it's one of my favorite things. Blucifer by the airport is a little creepy, but he's ours.
Wow, that's HUGE! Very cool!
Colorado (Denver) and NM are still on my list.
Worth a Thousand Words
Yikes.
The blue color was a happy accident. In my opinion, the blue really gives that bear statue character. Ditto for the blue horse. Strangely, we drove into Colorado twice in the 1970's when we lived in Kansas, and I don't remember those welcome signs. Definitely a colorful post.
I have seen many photos of the bear and I never get tired of seeing it and I love the horse at the airport as well. I love whimsy in art.
This is so interesting! I've seen him several times when I'm downtown, but I didn't know the history. I am surprised that black bears are the only ones native to the Rockies because last summer at a family reunion in Steamboat Springs, we had a large brown bear on our deck! But "I See What You Mean" is the only blue bear I know of. :) Visiting from the Funtastic Friday linkup.
That big blue bear is unbelievably cool! And ENORMOUS!
I see you…the blue bear looks so cute.
A special mustang too. Lovely!
Hello Pat,
I just love that Blue Bear ! The horse sculpture is pretty too.
Great critters and photos. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a great day and a happy weekend! PS, thank you for leaving me a comment.
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