kshanken
Fracture
The derelict—yet much beloved—Gates Rubber Factory sits mid-demolition on the corner of Broadway and Mississippi in South Denver. Once the primary employer of Denver and a symbol of industrial might, the factory closed around the turn of the millennial as the Gates Corporation moved on—primarily from the toxic asbestos and trichloroethylene. While the era of Denver industrialism may have ended, the closing gave way to a new set of admirers: adventurers, street artists, and photographers alike who were eager to explore the forbidden site.
With the building under demolition, the eerily beautiful blend of aging industrialism and contemporary art had to be captured before it vanished forever. These intricate pieces of street art were made on the forbidden side of barbed fences and boarded windows with dedication and spirit, yet only a select few would ever see them. For the sake of preservation and art in itself, we wanted to capture and highlight these unseen urban masterpieces and the rough magnificence of the rooms they fill.
Few remnants exist to show us what a bustling factory Gates once was; the expansive silence and open walls have become a canvas for underground artists. Much like the way the artists painted, the light of the steel wool manipulates its environment, reflecting and building off the peculiar allure of the existing works and their surroundings. The abstract forms illuminate the complex graffiti while also giving life to the faded industrialism. These forms could be a piece of art on their own; the brilliant arrays of sparks highlight the clash of old and new in this forsaken factory. It provides a portal—literal and metaphorical—into viewing the street art and their rough solidarity.
With the inspirational former might and modern intricacies found within Gates, our work reflects how much the space has transformed since its creation. These snapshots of time leave the world behind and suspend a new dimension of wonder and beauty: a beauty in the rough.
Fracture
The derelict—yet much beloved—Gates Rubber Factory sits mid-demolition on the corner of Broadway and Mississippi in South Denver. Once the primary employer of Denver and a symbol of industrial might, the factory closed around the turn of the millennial as the Gates Corporation moved on—primarily from the toxic asbestos and trichloroethylene. While the era of Denver industrialism may have ended, the closing gave way to a new set of admirers: adventurers, street artists, and photographers alike who were eager to explore the forbidden site.
With the building under demolition, the eerily beautiful blend of aging industrialism and contemporary art had to be captured before it vanished forever. These intricate pieces of street art were made on the forbidden side of barbed fences and boarded windows with dedication and spirit, yet only a select few would ever see them. For the sake of preservation and art in itself, we wanted to capture and highlight these unseen urban masterpieces and the rough magnificence of the rooms they fill.
Few remnants exist to show us what a bustling factory Gates once was; the expansive silence and open walls have become a canvas for underground artists. Much like the way the artists painted, the light of the steel wool manipulates its environment, reflecting and building off the peculiar allure of the existing works and their surroundings. The abstract forms illuminate the complex graffiti while also giving life to the faded industrialism. These forms could be a piece of art on their own; the brilliant arrays of sparks highlight the clash of old and new in this forsaken factory. It provides a portal—literal and metaphorical—into viewing the street art and their rough solidarity.
With the inspirational former might and modern intricacies found within Gates, our work reflects how much the space has transformed since its creation. These snapshots of time leave the world behind and suspend a new dimension of wonder and beauty: a beauty in the rough.