Page 92 - David Bermant Foundation

The SeA BeeBy Justin DiPego“The Sea Bee” stood high on its end, the prow arcing toward the sky. Towering over the asphalt sea, it could be seen to be sinking by the bow, or emerging triumphantly from the depths. Of all his works, this was Dustin Shuler’s favorite.Shuler spent three months in Boston Harbor. He acquired an actual fueler tender, a ship built to maintain and fuel fishing vessels. Since 1948, “The Sea Bee” had plied its trade on Massachusetts waters. By 1990, it was a derelict hulk, resting on the sand, sinking twice a day in high tide.Working with his crew, Shuler cut off and rebuilt thirty-two feet of the bow. Bright red paint went on below the water line. Shining black was the hull. The deck was washed with eye squinting white. Hauled to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, the 15-ton structure was erected in the parking lot of Bermant’s Allendale Shopping Center.The public was divided. While many saw the romance of Shuler’s vision, others were troubled by the idea of a sinking icon in the economically sinking town. Ultimately, the center was sold, and in 2002, “The Sea Bee” was taken down. Shuler cut off the forward eight feet and erected it in the grass outside the library at California State University, Fullerton.DUSTIN SHULER The Sea Bee 1990“If you can start a person’s day, or end their day, with a smile. . . I think that’s a pretty good function for a fine art object.”91