There is no doubt that the Denver International Airport has a haze of speculation and mystique surrounding it; however, there are two conspiracies highlighted regarding the murals having a disturbing underlying meaning, and the statue being unsettling or even haunted.

        In the first conspiracy, it is said that Tanguma’s murals have ominous, morbid themes, or that there is some sort of subliminal messaging being instilled into passersby (McKinley 2). While this is objectively partly true, it is not true in the malicious way it is portrayed to be. The mural’s artist, Leo Tanguma, had this to say when asked about his contribution to contemporary American art: “I bring into the mainstream a consciousness and an imagery that is humanizing to the whole society, as well as images that have been suppressed and repressed in America” (Lettieri 142). In the case of the airport murals, on theme with his aforementioned style, Tanguma’s goal was to shock people into giving his art and the state of the world some thought. Tanguma’s goal was only partially met. He definitely did shock people, but people were not inclined to give his art a second thought beyond the initial shock. It still remains true that his murals are less about trying to scare people and more about trying to enlighten people, even if that means depicting images that our society usually sweeps under the rug.

           That said, some believe that airports are especially vulnerable to spreading conspiracies and prompting misinterpretations with their installments (McKinley 43). This is mostly because travelers come from all different cultures and backgrounds, as well as the lack of context or prior knowledge needed to accurately interpret such polarizing art (43). Despite Tanguma’s good intentions, the murals were overwhelmingly ill-received by the general public because of their depictions of unpleasant topics like pollution and war (McKinley 17). The murals were placed in storage temporarily due to construction, and despite the backlash, the Denver International Airport is planning on reinstalling the murals at a later date (Art at Den).

            The second conspiracy involves the giant, red-eyed horse sculpture, Mustang, that is displayed outside of the Denver International Airport. Conspiracists not only believe that the statue is terribly creepy, but that it could possibly even be haunted or a symbol of evil (McKinley 33). This belief stems from the fact that Mustang’s primary artist, Luis Jimenez, was killed during the statue’s construction. A piece of suspended metal came unsecured, struck Jimenez, and caused him to bleed to death in his studio (City of Denver). The Denver Office of Cultural Affairs commented on the matter leading up to the statue’s erection at the airport: “Tragically, Jimenez died while working on the sculpture, having completed the painting of the head of the horse” (City of Denver). The statue was completed posthumously by his family, staff, and a few other artists who were all unaffected by the creative process (1). The statue finally made its debut at the airport in 2008, just two years after Jimenez’ death (1). When observing Mustang’s lore combined with his design, it is no wonder why people have formed such a distorted perception of the horse. However, everyone else involved in the completion of Mustang were left totally unharmed, and no one else has been harmed since.

        Even Mustang’s striking blue body and red eyes seem rather innocent when considering Jimenez’ inspiration—his father’s neon sign shop. Jimenez was also influenced by Mexican muralist, Diego Rivera, from whom he borrowed the theme of vibrant colors (McKinley 16). Like Tanguma, Jimenez seemed to place importance on honoring his Chicano descent through his artwork. With all of this in mind, it is reasonable to say that what happened to Luis Jimenez could be attributed to an unfortunate freak accident, not a haunting, and the glowing red eyes were purely a sentimental stylistic choice, rather than a triumph of evil.