Page 109 - David Bermant Foundation

SHOPPING CENTERSduSTIn Shuler’S cAr PelTSBy Justin DiPegoBermant was always trying to find a balance between the art world and the business world, and when he made that first visit to Shuler’s shop, he had such a balancing act in mind. He owned Hamden Plaza, a shopping center in Connecticut, but he was contractually unable to change the sign. So, what could he do to the sign without changing it? He put the question to Shuler. What could he do?At the time, the work Shuler was most known for was skinned cars. He pulled out all the innards, peeledthe metal from the body and splayed it flat like a butterfly pinned to a corkboard.So, that’s what he could do for the sign. Leave the sign intact and drape a skinned green Pinto over the side like hanging a leopard pelt over the back of a chair.Before that one was even finished, Bermant ordered another. Shuler looked out his office window and saw a car parked outside. “How about a yellow Pinto?” Like a trapper taking beaver pelts and buffalo skins from the wilds of the young country and delivering them to the sophisticated east, Shuler skinned two Pintos and hauled the pelts to Chicago and Connecticut.CaptionDUSTIN SHULERCar Pelt on Hamden Plaza sign108Hamden Plaza