Denver artist Mike Lustig makes works that are, as he puts it, “dynamic, complex, experiential, intuitive and accessible.” I would add a few adjectives to that: colorful, nostalgic, community-driven and joyful.
And big. His new Whee, a public art project on the grounds of the Creekside West apartment community in Lakewood, sums it up nicely. The piece is a towering whoosh of stainless steel and acrylic that transforms natural sunshine into a full spectrum of brilliant colors that light up the ground beneath it.
Artist Mike Lustig spins the wheel of his kinetic sculpture Whee, creating different patterns of light on the ground below the sculpture at Creekside West Apartments in Lakewood, Colorado on Thursday, April 11, 2024. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
Like a lot of Lustig’s pieces — he also created the iconic disco ball that hangs over the audience at the Mission Ballroom concert venue downtown — it is meant to be seen and shared by the masses and to inspire a bit of play. Whee is fully interactive; just grab the metal bar at the base, give it a good spin, and the work’s organic energy begins to flow.
Related: Will it spin, or won’t it? The mystery behind Mission Ballroom’s disco ball
Lustig, an attorney who turned to art as a profession, made the piece after an open call to artists from the work’s two nonprofit sponsors, Metro West Housing Solutions and the 40 West Arts District. Creekside West is an affordable apartment complex for seniors (at 1700 Pierce St. in Lakewood) but the grounds are open to anyone who wants to pop in and give “Whee” a whirl.
We asked him a few questions about the art, and the artist.
Question: I want to talk about Whee but first I want to talk about you. You were a full-time working attorney and now you are a full-time artist. How did that happen?
Mike Lustig: There came a point where I had to choose; there wasn’t enough room for both. The only way for me to produce my art at the level that I want is to dedicate my full time and attention to it.
Q: You make so many things. Different shapes, sizes, materials. When people ask what kind of artist are you, how do you answer?
ML: I view myself as a designer, a tinkerer, and a sculptor. I’ve primarily worked within concepts of light and space and am also exploring the aesthetics of plants and how language can be used as a process to understand and interpret relationships and identity.
Q: OK, now, about the sculpture, and how it fits into your larger work. I love standing under it and experiencing both the motion and the colors. Maybe start by giving us some technical information.
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ML: Whee is made from polished stainless steel and dichroic acrylic and stands 16.5 feet tall with a 15-foot diameter. A lot of technical and precise engineering was needed to realize this project. It was engineered by and fabricated with Elmendorf Geurts Studio; they can make most imagined realities possible. Also, fun fact, the name Whee was inspired by a conversation that I had with my mother.
Q: Can you talk a little bit about the clear material and how it works? It looks like magic stuff to me. Is that material responsible for the color shifting?
ML: The color shifting effect comes from the dichroic acrylic. Dichroic materials display different colors when viewed from various angles due to their ability to selectively reflect certain wavelengths of light while transmitting others. I’m very attracted to the dynamism of dichroic materials.
The sun shines through the Whee, a kinetic sculpture by artist Mike Lustig at Creekside West Apartments in Lakewood, Colorado on Thursday, April 11, 2024. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
Q: More specifically, why did you make Whee? What was your inspiration? What do you want it to be?
ML: “Whee” is a homophone with the word “We.” My inspiration was to create a sculpture that represents diverse peoples and communities coming together through play to both individually and collectively grow toward their dreams. The ring around the base allows for collaborative participation, dichroic material represents both diversity and change, the plant motif and the ascending spiral represents growth, and on top is an icosahedron which represents ideality, but also a 20-sided die; to grow and reach your dreams, sometimes you have to take chances and roll the dice.
Q: How does it fit into your larger body of work as an artist? Is there a common denominator that drives your work?
ML: With Whee, my intention was to grow and evolve, to dream bigger, similar to the symbolic meanings that I’ve infused within the aesthetics of Whee. This involved collaboration and risk-taking. I’m driven to create works that are dynamic, complex, experiential, intuitive, and accessible. I’m happy if I feel that I have achieved those principles within a work.
Q: I like that it spins. But can you tell us how to operate it? Give us some advice on getting the most out of it.
ML: There is a large steel ring attached to the column that one can grab to spin the sculpture; it’s easy enough for a 6-year-old child to spin it by themselves (as tested by my nephew Declan). For the best experience, I would spin Whee on a sunny day, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. At those times, vibrant projections are visible on the ground along with saturated color shifts and nets of reflections within the helicoid (the spiral). My favorite position of perspective is close to the base of the column (at various locations surrounding the sculpture) looking diagonally upwards into the sculpture.
Q: Can you tell us about the placement? It seems so perfect.
ML: I agree that is a perfect location. I love how the Creekside West community can feel a sense of ownership of the work while it is still publicly accessible along the 40 West ArtLine and adjacent to (Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design). Whee is for everyone.
Q: One last question from me: We need to talk about the Crescendo quickly, the giant mirror disco ball at Mission Ballroom. Tell us why you like it still?
The Mission Ball at Denver’s Mission Ballroom is a much-loved feature of the venue. (Alden Bonecutter)
ML: I will always love Crescendo. It changed my life, it allowed me to dream so much bigger than where I was at the time and move into a new reality; it was my first big piece, the first time I was trusted with a big budget (shoutout to AEG Live!), it’s how I became connected with Elmendorf Geurts, and its name was inspired by a conversation that I had with my father. More than anything, I love Crescendo because it’s an object of revelry that covers everyone in the same light, bringing people together in a shared moment.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to share? A big thought?
ML: Don’t wait to start. Begin now, start experimenting, fail fast, learn what you like and what you don’t like and focus on creating what feels good and true. Begin again, iterate, iterate, iterate. Steps lead to strides. If you have an idea, even if you don’t know how to make it happen, there are people out there who you can find to dream with, to create with, and to grow with. Having a community of friends has been the key to my success.