University of Denver Spring 2024

50 Reasons to Love DU

ART FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD # 29 “I have no tolerance for mediocrity or for the student who refuses to work.” That’s an infamous quote from a famous former director of the University of Denver School of Art, Vance Kirkland, whose paintings hang in more than 15 museums across the world. Kirkland isn’t the only hardworking artist with DU ties—have you seen the Big Blue Bear in downtown Denver? That signature piece is thanks to none other than former professor emeritus Lawrence Argent, who also designed “Whispers,” the concrete sculptures of lips near the Ritchie Center. Painter and muralist Allen Tupper True and sculptor Ed Dwight also once called DU home. “The outdoor sculpture on campus, as well as the wonderful art exhibitions at the Davis Gallery and Vicki Myhren Gallery in the Schwayder Art Building and the various shows at the DU Museum of Anthropology.”

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30 NO.

THE GHOSTS OF DU Night owls, beware: There may be more than just insomniac scholars frequenting the halls of campus buildings after dark. Phil Goodstein’s (MA ’75) book, “The Ghosts of University Park, Platt Park and Beyond,” digs into the eerie history of several buildings on campus—Mary Reed’s Renaissance Room and the historic Buchtel House among them. The list of haunted premises also includes Margery Reed Hall, former home of the DU Theatre Department. “[Hundreds of performers] over the years have all been convinced there’s a ghost,” Goodstein says. “They claim strange whispering and odd echoes during performances; things were always slightly going wrong.”

“I See What You Mean” by Lawrence Argent. Credit: VISIT DENVER

Portrait of Mary Reed