Page 99 - David Bermant Foundation

“The junk sculptureis of the highest art because it is honest, a revelation and a vision. It is rejected for those reasons by people who cannot bear to view themselves reflected in the sculpture’s honesty, naked as consumersof American trash. Residents hate ‘Bil- Bored’ because they don’t like hearingthe truth about themselves—that they have devoted their lifetimes to the mass production of garbage. As a work of art, the sculpture is brilliant. It does not pretend to be beautiful, elaborate,or uplifting. It is whatit is: a monument to what Americans create best—garbage. As a Berwyn resident, I love the junk sculpture.”—From Life newspaper, “Staff Views” column, June 21, 1981,by Randy Blaser(continued)fans, bicycles, hubcaps and other debris. The work was commissioned by Cermak Plaza owner David W. Bermant, an enthusiastic, high-profile patron of modern art. When the inevitable press questions came, Bermant responded from a socio-cultural perspective one doesn’t generally expect from shopping center owners: “People can look at Nancy’s work and see their own life,” he told the Chicago Tribune in November 1980, as the sculpture neared completion. “At first I thought the plaza merchants would kill me. This piece shows the stuff they sell for what it is. But I decided to do it anyway because it was important.”As you would probably expect, the community went apoplectic over the sculpture. “It’s a hunk of junk, a monstrosity,” according to one angry resident quoted in the Tribune article. “Why don’t those people do something constructive like sweeping the street instead of dirtying it up?” Judy Baar Topinka, the local state representative, weighed in on behalf of her constituents to the Berwyn/Cicero Life newspaper: “Is this the image that Berwyn wants to present to the world, a portal on a major thoroughfare? Instead of rejuvenation, revitalization, beautification, and progress, the message that is being sent is that we’re riding high on the scrap heap. It is, at best, the worst public relations move I have ever seen put forth.” Finally the mayor of Berwyn, Thomas Hett, conceded that due to the fact that it was on private property, little could be done. “But let me tell you, I don’t see how anyone in their right mind could have approved the thing.” In any event, “Big Bil-Bored” was there to stay.My own attitude towards the sculpture was initially very negative, and I wish I could say that type of arthas grown on me in the years since, although in time I kind of got a kick out of all those 1950’s-era toasters staring at me as I walked out of Walgreens or Service Merchandise. What has changed is that I’ve come to greatly admire Bermant’s courage in daring to stand out from the crowd—a bold and exciting move, worthy of note.Over the following decade, Bermant would commission several more modern art pieces, most much smaller, for Cermak Plaza. One that can still be seen at the Plaza is artist Dustin Shuler’s “Pinto Pelt,” which is essentially the hide of a Ford Pinto, mounted taxidermy-style to the side of the Plaza optometrist’s shop. Given the Pinto’s unfortunate reputation, that’s probably the safest place for it.The next large piece of modern art to appear at Cermak Plaza wasn’t a sculpture or statue, but a building. In the spring of 1984, a new McDonald’s restaurant with a unique design was built. Designed by SITE, which according to a Tribune article was “an art and architecture organization known for its exploration of new ideas for the urban visual environment,” sections of the store were elevated, leading to an unusual “floating” appearance. Much credit for the modern design, of course, must go to Bermant, who “encouraged them to build a restaurant that would excite interest in the center and would complement the art works that we have already placed at Cermak.”The crowning achievement, as far as Cermak Plaza’s art works went, would have to be “Spindle,” built in 1989 by L.A.-based artist Dustin Shuler, who also created the “Pinto Pelt.” “Spindle” consisted of eight cars impaled (continued on page 100)98