$167K: Lighted ‘pickup sticks’ artwork for Bloomington Trades District finally looks on course to be installed, with big cost increase since 2021
At its meeting last Monday, Bloomington’s redevelopment commission (RDC) approved a revision to a contract with Weber Group II, LLC to fabricate a piece of art by German artist Stefan Reiss to be installed in the Trades District.
The revision raised the amount of the contract by $33,825—from $133,642 to $167,467.
It was the latest increase in the cost of fabrication. A contract with a different fabricator, Ignition Arts, was originally approved by the RDC in February 2021 in the amount of about $90,000. That means the amount for Weber’s revised contract reflects a roughly 85-percent increase in the fabrication cost, since early 2021.
The artwork, which Reiss has dubbed “OT 987”, was described five years ago as featuring square plexiglass tubes with LED lights arranged in angular patterns. It was selected by Bloomington’s arts commission from five finalists in the summer of 2019.
With its approval on Monday, the RDC was not authorizing any more of its TIF (tax increment finance) money for the project, because the BUEA (Bloomington Urban Enterprise Association) agreed to cover the additional cost at its June 12, 204 meeting.
The reason the item was in front of the RDC was because the RDC is the signatory to the contract with the fabricator, according to Bloomington city attorney Larry Allen, who attended Monday’s meeting.
But the amount of $133,642 already reflected a commitment of an additional $27,142 in TIF funds, which was made by the RDC in January of this year.
At the time, Holly Warren, who is assistant director for the arts in Bloomington’s economic and sustainable development (ESD), said the increase was due to the increase in cost of materials during the delays in getting the project started. The delay was caused by unexpected issues with the original planned location of the project, Warren indicated.
The original cost of the agreement with Weber was $106,500, which was approved by the RDC in April 2023.
At Monday’s RDC meeting, ESD director Jane Kupersmith said she calls the work “pick-up sticks” because it resembles a giant mid-play game of pick-up sticks. The “sticks” are made of powder-coated steel, Kupersmith said.
About the start of the actual fabrication of the work, Kupersmith said, “We’re getting close.” The RDC’s approval of the contract will allow the start of the lighting fabrication at Weber’s studio near Jeffersonville. Part of the additional cost involves paying artist Karsten Schuhl to design and program the LED light features that are included in OT 987.
In her memo to the BUEA for its June meeting, Warren described the role of the art installation as contributing to the economic development of the Trades District, north of city hall and south of 11th Street. It’s a 12-acre portion of a larger area making up Bloomington’s certified technology park.
The real estate for the Trades District was purchased by Bloomington’s redevelopment commission more than a decade ago.
In her memo, Warren noted that the city of Bloomington, in collaboration with The Mill, is working to establish a technology center (now branded as “The Forge”) and to build a hotel in the Trades District. Warren described Reiss’s artwork as serving as a gateway to the Trades District. It will contribute to the visual identity of the district, according to Warren.
