Open Season is delivered to the installation site.
Photo by Richard Collier.
“Open Season” by Guadalupe Barajas
Photo by Linda Coatney
Guadalupe Barajas’s bronze “Open Season” was unveiled October 2 at the Governor’s Mansion. Not deterred by light rain and breezey conditions, Milward Simpson, director of State Parks and Cultural Resources, was Master of Ceremony, introducing Nancy Schiffer, First Lady Nancy Freudenthal, Guadalupe, and Governor Dave Freudenthal, who all offered comments in honor of the occasion.
Governor Dave Freudenthal (r) presents Guadalupe Barajas (l) with a proclomation from Mayor Jack Spiker, officially making October 2 Guadalupe Barajas Day in Cheyenne. Photo by Richard Collier.
Guadalupe talked about growing up in the Cheyenne area, his odyssey of putting a sculpture of this size together, and how gratified he was to have his work chosen for a place at the Governor’s mansion. “That says it all,” he said.
The bronze is big and beautiful as you can see from the photo. It’s unusual in that it depicts mule deer, a species too often ignored in sculpture. The Governor attested to not only the likeness but in the movement of the deer as they are jumping over some outcropping.