CSU Spur logo with three campus bugs
Artistic rendering of Nikki Pike and her proposed sculpture

Crescendo

Nikki Pike
Location: Hydro Backyard

The power of people + the power of the ocean. Strength/power + play/innovation. The installation of Crescendo is focused on the large grouping of waves placed centrally in the Hydro Backyard. The waves flow throughout the entire backyard. With the diversity of the shape groupings and the overall expanse, the installation can hold up to 28 forms.

About the artist

Nikki Pike is an artist and activist committed to serving the community through her art practice and role as an educator. Through the use of universally positive human experiences such as curiosity, music, surprise, and gifting along with the influence of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, she spreads values of empowerment, vulnerability, and connection in the form of experience as opposed to product. Nikki sees herself as a cultural agent working together with local communities promoting activity and creativity. With her an expansive practice, Nikki straddles public arts, social sculpture, service art and is exploring ideas of relief art intended to aide communities responding to disaster. Her methods start from the ideals of democracy and her work has been featured at the Denver Art Museum, the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, and Art Basel Miami, to name a few. Currently, Nikki resides in Denver, Colo. and holds a professorship at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.

Aerial view of a landscaped area with large concrete structures in the southeast corner.
Large white triangular concrete structures stand in a row.
A woman in a hard hat stands near a large white concrete structure.
Two people in construction gear help steady a large white concrete structure being lifted off the ground with ropes.
A large white concrete structure is lifted off the ground with rope.
Open space behind a building with a walking path and an art installation.
Instagram Link
Wiz Kid peeking out from between two curtains with a bunch of musical instrument cartoons.

We’ll see you Saturday!

2nd Saturday at CSU Spur is 10 a.m.-2 p.m. this Saturday (May 11)! Join us to learn about the South Platte River’s plants and animals, check out the Denver Museum of Nature & Science Curiosity Cruiser and Little Shop of Physics experiment stations, taste test chicken nuggets in the Sensory Lab, and meet Wiz Kid!

Hope to see you there!

JOCELYN HITTLE

Associate Vice Chancellor for CSU Spur & Special Projects, CSU System

Jocelyn Hittle is primarily focused on helping to create the CSU System’s new Spur campus at the National Western Center, and on supporting campus sustainability goals across CSU’s campuses. She sits on the Denver Mayor’s Sustainability Advisory Council, on the Advisory Committee for the Coors Western Art Show, and is a technical advisor for the AASHE STARS program.

Prior to joining CSU, Jocelyn was the Associate Director of PlaceMatters, a national urban planning think tank, and worked for the Orton Family Foundation. She has a degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Princeton, and a Masters in Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

Jocelyn grew up in Colorado and spends her free time in the mountains or exploring Denver.

Wave art

TONY FRANK

Chancellor, CSU System

Dr. Tony Frank is the Chancellor of the CSU System. He previously served for 11 years as the 14th president of CSU in Fort Collins. Dr. Frank earned his undergraduate degree in biology from Wartburg College, followed by a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Illinois, and a Ph.D. and residencies in pathology and toxicology at Purdue. Prior to his appointment as CSU’s president in 2008, he served as the University’s provost and executive vice president, vice president for research, chairman of the Pathology Department, and Associate Dean for Research in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. He was appointed to a dual role as Chancellor in 2015 and became full-time System chancellor in July 2019.

Dr. Frank serves on a number of state and national boards, has authored and co-authored numerous scientific publications, and has been honored with state and national awards for his leadership in higher education.

Dr. Frank and his wife, Dr. Patti Helper, have three daughters.

Wave art