Death of a Sculpture?
Art Before Commerce:
Sculpture in Illinois to be Replaced…
…by a pharmacy
Well, so much for culture…
A well-known and much admired large-scale sculpture will be dismantled to make way for a pharmacy.
The landmark art piece, officially named “Spindle”, is a towering sculpture of eight cars impaled by a giant steel nail. It became famous for its appearance in the 1992 comedy film “Wayne’s World”, starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey. The sculpture is also known as the Car Kabob and the Eight Car Pileup.
To this day, Spindle attracts movie fans to the shopping center parking lot which has been its home, located in Berwyn, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago.
Said Mayor Michael O’Connor:
From a marketing standpoint, I like the Spindle. It has definitely been a plus for the community.
Berwyn Mayor Michael O’Connor
Regardless, the edgy sculpture will be removed this summer to make way for a Walgreen’s pharmacy. It could be moved elsewhere, though the cost of doing so would be high. Seems as though the “plus for the community” didn’t carry much weight in the face of big business. When compared to a pharmacy (which can be found on any street corner) the plus became a minus.
Said the artist who built the piece in 1989:
Personally, I would have moved the Walgreen’s and left the Spindle where it is. The dismantling (of my art work) is painful and is a loss for Chicago.
I couldn’t have said it better. What a shame.
