Page 104 - David Bermant Foundation

Because of the expense of constructing “Spindle,” Shuler wouldn’t make much money on it. His fee was not the issue. He had no problem with that. But, “I knew what it was,” Shuler said. “I knew this was gonna be a monument. This was gonna go around the world.” With the copyright in hand, he could make up for the money that wouldn’t come from the commission.Shuler asked why DWB wanted to keep the copyright. It turned out, he was concerned that Shuler would do another “Spindle” somewhere else. Shuler said that was no problem and they put it in the contract: Shuler kept the copyright and in return promised not to produce another “Spindle.” DWB in turn promised that the work would be safe for ten years. That way, if anyone tried to force DWB to remove it he could say, “Oh, no. I have a contract with the artist.”The theory here was based on DWB’s belief that a work, particularly one with the potential for controversy, needed time to live in the community. People had to get used to it. It had to grow on them and (maybe) they’d come to love it. After ten years, if they hated it still, maybe it’s time to take it down. Ultimately, “Spindle” survived for nineteen years.Permits took a year. Shuler built more models. The city was fighting them; another giant sculpture in the same parking lot as “Big Bill Bored.” They handed down a height restriction: fifty feet. The nine-car spire would stand fifty-four feet. Swallowing a special attachment to the number nine, Shuler knocked off one car.Now eight cars had to be purchased, modified and skewered. These were real cars. A newspaper did a story before the construction and called it a “junkyard inthe sky,” but these were not junkers. To prove it, DWB offered up his own car to the project. As he put it, “the owner’s car, donated to the art world.”Engines were taken out so they would balance properly. Drive trains and seats were removed to make way for the holes to be cut and the spindle to pass through. Gas tanks were removed so the sculpture wouldn’t be a giant bomb.From bottom to top, the cars were a black ’79 Mercury Grand Marquis; a yellow ‘79 Ford LTD; a maroon ‘81 Pontiac Grand Prix; a two tone, white over blue, ‘78 Mustang II; a green ’74 Mercury Capri; and a blue ‘81 Ford Escort. The next car was DWB’s silver 1976 BMW New Class 1602. He wanted the car on top, but Shuler had his own idea. The BMW was the second car down and the whole thing was topped with a red 1967 VW Bug, like the cherry on a sundae.As a thank you and a mollification, the artist made a special license plate for the BMW. It read, “DAVE.”Four pilings were sunk over a dozen feet into the earth. A foundation was laid. The spindle was erected, secured by a six foot dome of concrete at its base.In part, the plaque at the foot of the spire read: “The automobile, the computer, and the television are the three technological wonders of the Twentieth Century that have most profoundly influenced our culture.“Artist Dustin Shuler, with his finger on the pulse of the Twentieth Century, has chosen the automobile as the subject matter of his art.(continued on page 104)103