CREJ - Building Dialogue - March 2017
The parking garage – not the first location that comes to mind for artwork. Why bother making such a matter-of-fact space less utilitarian? But for downtown Denver’s The Curtis Hotel, owned and operated by Sage Hospitality, function and form go hand in hand when it comes to their parking garage elevator lobbies melding way finding, branding, guest engagement and PR buzz. In 2016, The Curtis Hotel engaged design firm DLR Group and our own art advisory firm to help transform the parking garage elevator lobbies into immersive experiences for guests and staff alike. DLR Group developed a thematic concept that corresponds each parking garage level with a different level of the earth’s atmosphere: underground, ground and sky. DLR then turned to Nine dot Arts to help curate original murals by local artists for the hotel’s five parking garage floors. After approaching over a dozen artists, The Curtis Hotel selected interdisciplinary Forrest J. Morrison, who has painted murals for the Denver Urban Arts Fund as well as Youth on Record with the Denver Housing Authority, to paint all five levels from the sub-basement up through level two. As part of Sage Hospitality’s art initiative that creates a mini museum inside each and every Sage hotel, this mural project continues The Curtis Hotel’s commitment to local artists while branding the property as a one-of-a-kind, pop-culture experience for guests. Morrison used The Curtis Hotel’s brand and its proximity to cultural landmarks as the inspiration between his clever and approachable pop culture/art history mash ups. The first level melds Edward Hopper’s iconic Nighthawkswith Denver’s skyline and the hotel’s own restaurant, The Corner Office. Level 1A features François Boucher’s putty floating among clouds complete with selfie sticks, smart phones, drones, remotes, TVs and headphones. Morrison transformed the second floor into Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel complete with God giving life to 1970s-health personality Slim Goodbody and a narcissistic Adam. Morrison is transforming the basement level into Rembrandt’s The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulpfeaturing hipster-fashioned figures, faux wood paneling and a tattoo parlor. The sub-basement will morph into Hieronymous Bosch’s depictions of purgatory and hell from The Garden of Earthly Delights populated with mid-century pop culture icons that have lost their glamour. The elevator door wall will be painted like an ancient Greek bust: When the elevator doors open, guests enter as if through the bust’s eye sockets. Such diversity of styles not only shows off Morrison’s incredible versatility in artistic style but also creates a distinct environment for each of the floors, helping guests identify and remember what floor they parked on and encouraging visits to other floors as well. Morrison has turned the parking garage into a temporary artist studio, allowing guests and staff unprecedented access into the creative process. Painting since mid-October with the help of a single assistant, Michael Vacchiano (Denver artist and Point Gallery owner), Morrison finished the project in late February. He’s customized each mural based on that floor’s lighting, studying color values and experimenting with painting techniques, to create hyper realistic figures and scenes that beg for guests to stop for selfies and get people talking and looking while waiting for an elevator. Of The Curtis Hotel project, he said, “I’m a realist painter adept in many styles and I’m looking forward to showing off my chops.” This mural project ranks as one of the largest we have completed to date in a hospitality setting and is Morrison’s largest commission to-date. “We always look to push ourselves and the artists we work with to the next level creatively,” said Nine dot Arts CEO Martha Weidmann. “We have the processes, structure and funding in place to help artists scale up their work for these large projects. Clients like Sage really believe in the artists and the value of their work, which makes the end result that much better. The artist’s vision is honored, and the hotel benefits through guest engagement and community goodwill.” The Curtis Hotel’s mural project proves that art can be anywhere – not just on the white walls of a gallery or museum – and that art can help a business solve problems and positively impact its bottom line. OPENING ART: Work-in-progress photograph of Floor 1A showing putti inspired by Rococo painter FranÇois Boucher with headphones, iPads and selfie sticks. ABOVE LEFT: Detail of the Basement level in progress inspired by Rembrandt's The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp ABOVE CENTER: Painting assistant Michael Vacchiano working on the second-level interior elevator lobby inspired by Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. ABOVE RIGHT: Comic book-style fist bump on the second level interior elevator lobby inspired by Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. RIGHT: Exterior lobby on the second level featuring God from Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel and 1970s TV personality Slim Goodbody.