Denver Animal Shelter, Denver, Colorado, USA, 2011

Sun Spot is a tri-piece artwork for the Denver Animal Shelter. The three pieces are linked by the common use of pet tags. The primary artwork is a 20’-tall iconic dog sculpture visible from Interstate-25. The sculpture is made from a steel skeleton covered with 90,000 stainless steel pet tags. The movement of the tags in the breeze coupled with sunlight and colored LEDs at night make the surface of the sculpture a constantly scintillating surface of light and sound when viewed up close.

The second piece is a suspended 6’-diameter collar sculpture in the lobby of the Shelter and sized to fit the dog sculpture. Patterns cut and etched into the collar are derived from the native shrubs planted around the dog. Chains hanging from the collar are slowly accumulating with custom engraved pet tags commemorating both old and newly adopted pets, becoming a communal gesture of animal stewardship.

The final art element is a set of etched tags identifying native plants along the South Platte River Greenway that runs past the Animal Shelter. Using pet tags to “name” the plants ties environmental stewardship to animal stewardship.

Sun Spot was commissioned by the City and County of Denver’s Public Art Program. The dog sculpture was fabricated and installed by Demiurge Design and the collar was fabricated and installed by Silo Workshop.