FINISHING TOUCHES
Lawrence played with reducing the amount of triangles until he came up with an abstraction of the original model. The final bear is made up of about 4000 triangles on the surface. The scale of the bear was propositional to the massive size of the Convention Center. The final blue color of the bear was a happy accident. When creating the first small prototype with a 3D printer, the ABS plastic that created the 3D print just happened to be a bright blue in color. Both Lawrence and Anne quite liked the result as blue also represents the Colorado sky. They agreed that the surface color of the final bear would be lapis lazuli in color. This is a rare powerful stone found in few places in the world, one being Colorado.
Peering inquisitively through the large windows at the Denver Convention Center, a 40 foot faceted lapis blue bear appears to be pushing it's nose and paws against the glass, checking out the happenings inside.
KEY FACTS ABOUT THE BEAR
The bear's gesture and size evokes a dialogue between viewer and the viewed. The sculpture is titled, "I See What You Mean." The title itself generates a dialogue between the bear and viewer, placing both in conversation about what they are visually witnessing and sensing. It is a cleaver site-specific bridge between Colorado's fauna and new digital technology.
- Artist: Lawrence Argent
- Installed: 2005
- Site: 700 14th Street, Denver, CO
- Cost" $395,000
- Fabricator: Keysler and Associates. CA
- Made from: Fiber –reinforced polymers and concrete
- Weight: 10,000 lbs
- Color: Lapis lazuli blue