Michael Benisty feels the time is right to install a 6-story Statue of Liberty-inspired sculpture on the sprawling plains on the eastern edge of Aurora.
With division and rancor on the U.S. cultural menu — and immigrants being detained by ICE in Aurora — there’s a deeply relevant message in this artistic work inspired by one of the most iconic statues in the world, Benisty said.
“Even though I’ve had the design for a while, it goes beyond the political,” he said over video chat from Tel Aviv, Israel. Originally from Antwerp, Belgium, Benisty has traveled the globe installing his large-scale sculptures for public and private projects, including the Aurora-bound piece known simply as “Liberty.”
“Liberty will be interpreted by people in different ways, especially in these times we’re living in. But that’s what makes art stronger and more beautiful,” he said.
After a complicated installation this month, visitors will be able to officially visit “Liberty” and two dozen more artworks starting May 13. “Liberty” will sit along a 2-mile art walk known as Hogan Park at Highlands Creek. Once rooted, the 22,000-pound sculpture will be the largest piece of a growing art collection at the Aurora Highlands development, a 4,000-acre, master-planned community about 10 minutes east of I-225 and Iliff Avenue.
The unusual focus on daring, original works comes from developer Carla Ferreira, the co-owner and CEO of Aurora Highlands, and a well-connected veteran of the fine-art and gallery world.
She’s also a devoted “burner,” or Burning Man festival regular, who couldn’t help but notice the 58-foot tall “Liberty” at last year’s event in the Nevada desert. She then reconnected with Benisty, whose 25-foot-tall , mirrored-figure sculpture “Broken But Together” already adorns the art park, to see about acquiring “Liberty.”
“It will be in our own no-man’s-land over here,” she said with a laugh. “But it was important to install it now rather than waiting 5 or 10 years until various projects are complete and all the roads are in place.”
The piece won’t be fully accessible at first, but poured concrete sidewalks, benches and roads will soon change that. Ferreira declined to name a specific price for “Liberty” over concern that it may devalue the work, but said it would likely go for $1 million at auction. Once “Liberty” is installed, she estimated the total value of the park’s artworks, from large-scale sculptures to murals and creative, bilingual signage, at $3.3 million.
“Burning Man was the perfect test site to see if it could survive the elements. But that’s not why we bought it,” Ferreira said. “While (Aurora) doesn’t always get the best press nationally because of all the things that have gone on and been said about Aurora, it’s a beautifully dynamic place and has incredible diversity. More languages are spoken here than in many places in the world.
“We are a land of immigrants, and ‘Liberty’ just means a lot,” she added. (A Denver Post op-ed last year dubbed Aurora “The Ellis Island of the Plains.”)
“Liberty” is an interpretation of the Statue of Liberty as opposed to a replica, Benisty said, with a relatively recognizable upper half but smoothed-out bottom that leaves his own stamp on the 149-year-old icon. It’s headed to Aurora via a covered semi truck after sitting in storage in Reno, Nevada, and will require a pair of cranes to lift the 37,000-pound sculpture into place — with a 6-foot underground base to keep it steady.
Visible for miles around, “Liberty” will stand on the south end of Hogan Park at Highlands Creek, near the future southern entrance to the Aurora Highlands off I-70, Ferreira said.
It’s meant not just to draw tourists or local art fans, but as a beacon of hope and understanding in a world sorely lacking in them, Benisty said.
“I was living in New York during 9/11, and it (struck) me how the Statue of Liberty represents so many things to so many people,” he said. “Its meaning changes from generation to generation. She’s really there to hold and shine her light for all.”