Laleh Mehran's new installation at the Denver Art Museum isn't meant to be autobiographical, exactly, but it's hard to separate the thoughtful multimedia piece from the the artist who created it.

Centered on a giant, walk-in cube, "Men of God, Men of Nature," invites viewers to reflect on their own spiritual, political and scientific beliefs and the power those things have to influence how we treat each other.

Mehran is not so specific about the religions or cultures she is exploring — the work has references to Islam, Christianity and Judaism, to all sorts of popular movements, and is itself quite scientific — but it's clear she is talking about faith of the pure and absolute kind.

The exterior of the cube is etched with topographical lines.
The exterior of the cube is etched with topographical lines.

And fundamentalism is something Mehran understands the implications of. Her own family fled its home in Iran in the 1970s, just before the faith-based revolution that forced the shah out of power.

Life was unsafe for academics at the time, and Mehran's college professor parents packed their bags — and their 10-year-old daughter — and headed to the U.S.

Little Laleh finished her growing up in Miami, just as Iran became America's No. 1 enemy. She spent her adolescence deflecting insults over her heritage. For years, she told everyone she met that she was Greek.

These days, Mehran is a digital media professor at the University of Denver, a talented and contented artist with a quickly growing reputation. But her insights on the joys and dangers of the spiritual and social systems people use to guide them carry a particular weight.

"There is no purity in any of it, of course," she said, during a walk-through of her work last week. "It's all used in agenda settings."

In that way, "Men of God, Men of Nature" advances its own anti-dogma dogma, and it does so by borrowing the tricks of the strict philosophies it questions. The piece follows precise guidelines — the cube is a perfect 12-foot-by-12-foot block and controlled at every turn — and it is emotional, convincing, seductive.

But it breaks with fundamentalist tactics by denying certainty to those it means to influence. It is unsettling to step around and into Mehran's cube. It is involving and meditative, though not in a comforting way.

Instead, the viewer is consumed by meticulous detail. The exterior of the shiny black box is etched in topographical lines denoting some unknown land. The light is dim. A mysterious background sound, a collage of urban noises, songs, machines, animals, begs to be deciphered.

Inside, it is lined with mirrors and on top of that, a layer of arabesque grating. It is neither a mosque or a chapel, though it feels like both of those. Also, a tree house, a jail cell, a space ship. It is confining, remote, above the world.

At eye level, video screens endlessly project 120,000 plum-sized, in-motion orbs, which appear to be heading toward you from ground-level. Are you suddenly surrounded by followers or an angry mob? Will you lead these pilgrims, jump the line, run?

Here, Mehran gives up the reins, encouraging whatever reaction might come about. She has seen people cry, stand tall, exit quickly.

"The spirituality people keep close to themselves seems to come out," she said.

Mehran&#8217;s meditation on faith, &quot;Men of God, Men of Nature,&quot; is a 12-foot cube. The piece posits an anti-dogma dogma by borrowing the tricks
Mehran's meditation on faith, "Men of God, Men of Nature," is a 12-foot cube. The piece posits an anti-dogma dogma by borrowing the tricks of the strict philosophies it questions.

Assembling "Men of God, Men of Nature" was no small feat. To create the patterned details in and surrounding the cube, Mehran and her husband, artist (and trained engineer) Chris Coleman, built a machine in their garage that could cut and etch acrylic panels based on computer programs. DAM's construction crews had to fabricate a box that could hold a dozen people and withstand wear-and-tear over the 10 months the exhibit will be up in the Fuse Box contemporary art space.

Mehran knows she is treading in dangerous waters just by asking people to question the repercussions of their faith, to consider how their own religion and government can serve or deceive them. How scientific facts can be used to manipulate behavior.

But she is an equal-opportunity prosecutor. She lands safely by pressing the exclusivity of all beliefs, or even the lack of any belief.

She questions all of our gods, the nature of everyone. This piece isn't personal; it's the collective autobiography of our contentious age.

Ray Mark Rinaldi: 303-954-1540, or

MEN OF GOD, MEN OF NATURE Artist Laleh Mehran's interactive installation will be on exhibit through Feb. 17. Denver Art Museum, West 13th Avenue between Broadway and Bannock streets. $10 for Colorado residents. 720-865-5000 or