Update on the Uptown sculpture

We did some more checking on the cost of the Uptown sculpture. The city Finance Department said it wrote two checks to artist Nick Poupore (aka Nic Noblique) in February for the sculpture.

The first was on Feb. 4 for $1,970 and was for metal. The second was on Feb. 6 for $18,104.36 and was for the sculpture itself. That totals $20,074.36 - about half of the $40,000 purchase price.

The Finance Department employee who helped me said the payments came with a note saying $30,000 of the $40,000 payment was due in advance. But, according to this employee, there was no obvious record of $30,000 or $40,000 in payments.

We're still checking with the City Development Department on payments for the sculptures and will report back when our calls to the department are returned.

Also, a second Noblique sculpture may be installed in the Uptown area. A privately owned piece, significantly smaller than the red sculpture already in place, is expected to be installed between Uptown's mosaics walls.

And, another Noblique statue can be seen in the window of 1301 Washington Ave. in Uptown. That sculpture is also privately owned.

Lastly, we should note Noblique is a Wisconsin native. The 33-year-old was born in Appleton and now lives in Galveston Island, Texas. He's had dozens of sculptures displayed around the country, including one on Navy Pier in Chicago.

In this article, the successful Noblique says his credo is: "Art is whatever you can get away with."

Uptown sculpture cost $40,000; Alderman: 'I'm not happy to hear about this'

Former Mayor Gary Becker spent $40,000 in city money to buy a sculpture from a Texas artist planning to move into Uptown's arts district.

The city used Community Development Block Grant money to purchase the bright red sculpture now placed the corner of 10th Street and Washington Ave, according to Kristin Niemiec, corridor specialist for the Racine County Economic Development Corporation.

The Uptown project received $50,000 in CDBG money in 2007, $100,000 in 2008 and $75,000 in 2009. The money was generally designated for marketing the Uptown Artist Relocation program, which was designed to attract artists to Racine.

The $40,000 figure is a stark contrast to the amount we reported following Monday's Redevelopment Authority meeting. At that meeting, I reported the sculpture was donated to the city, but apparently misunderstood. (One possibility is the sculpture didn't cost the RDA any money. Another is the sculpture was purchased with CDBG money, so it didn't come out of the city budget. In either case, the sculpture cost $40,000 and had already been purchased by the time the RDA reviewed placing it at 10th 13th St. and Washington Ave.)

I wasn't alone. Alderman Greg Helding said he believed the city purchased the sculpture for around $6,000. When told it was $40,000, he said he was upset.

"I'm not happy to hear about this," Helding said. "I assumed marketing dollars were spent on marketing, and I'm going to ask that this be looked into."

That said, Helding said he was happy with the artwork and thought it looked "cool" along Washington Avenue. He just didn't know it cost so much money.

Niemiec said it was Becker's idea to purchase the sculpture, which was created by artist NicNoblique , who considered moving to Racine after Hurricane Ike displaced him from Galveston Island, Texas. Noblique told The Journal Times he backed out of moving to Racine after Becker was arrested in an Internet sex sting.

RacinePost heard a different story from city officials, who said Noblique backed out because he couldn't afford the building. Coincidentally, the $40,000 sale price for the sculpture is 10 percent of the cost of the $400,000 building Noblique had hoped to purchase at 1526 Washington Ave. A lending program for buying buildings in Uptown requires artists to make a 10 percent down payment to qualify for the loan. Noblique told the JT he also backed out of buying the building because the interior didn't have flooring, electricity or plumbing.

Let's chalk this up to the latest questionable move by our former mayor in hopes of igniting the Uptown artist district. Becker decided to spend $40,000 in CDBG money - money that could go for any of dozens of worthy programs in the city - on a sculpture created by an out-of-town artist with no connection to Racine. (That said, Noblique has an impressive resume and could have been a strong fit for Becker's Uptown vision.)

Sadly, if the former mayor wanted to spend $40,000 on public art for Uptown he certainly could have commissioned an artist to create a piece or held a contest and attracted designs and ideas from around the country. It could have actually galvanized interest in the district instead of serving as another symbol of Becker's reckless drive to "create Uptown."

p.s. Nice work by the JT on tracking down the actual cost of the sculpture. On a minor detail, the pedestal for the sculpture cost about $3,700, and work fixing curbs and landscaping the triangle-shaped park along Washington Ave., including the pedestal, cost a total of about $15,000.

Uptown photos: Progress on arts district, sculpture placed and Brantner's exterior

Arts District coming along

Work is progressing on the city-owned building at 1526 Washington Ave. The new second-story windows look great and Katt Construction is well on its way to transforming the building into an attractive store front. (See the building pre-construction here.) Next up is exterior work on 1418 Washington Ave. down the street.


Sculpture placed
Uptown's new sculpture was placed on Tuesday. The 9 1/2-foot tall sculpture, donated to the city by artist Nic Noblique, sits on a 2-foot-8-inch pedestal at the corner of Washington Ave and 13th St. (See our post here.)


Brantner's
We're overdue on this, but Brantner's new storefront at 10th and Washington Ave. looks great.

Committee approves placing sculpture in Uptown

Untitled, by Nic Noblique

The city's Redevelopment Authority approved placing a 9 1/2-foot tall sculpture at a new pocket park being built at 1247 Washington Ave.

Artist Nic Noblique donated the sculpture to the city after he nearly moved to Uptown as part of the city's Artist Relocation Program. Noblique and his family was displaced by Hurricane Ike and briefly moved to Racine. He intended to buy one of the Uptown buildings, but the deal fell through and Noblique moved back to Texas.

The abstract steel sculpture, untitled, is a flowing bright red design that will sit on a 2-foot-8-inch pedestal in the 800-square-foot park. Members of the Uptown Business Improvement District approved the sculpture, said City Development Director Brian O'Connell.

Members of the RDA briefly guffawed at the artwork, but unanimously approved placing it in the park at the corner of Washington Avenue and 13th Street.

The committee asked about potential vandalism to the sculpture. O'Connell said city staff believed the public would respect the artwork. He added staff acquired some of the red paint to cover up any graffitti on the sculpture.

The city acquired the triangle-shaped piece of land from the county. It was a tax delinquent property, O'Connell said.

Along with the sculpture, the city will do some minimal landscaping in the park, including planting trees, he said.

Contractor Vassh and Sons Excavating Inc., of Franksville, was the low-bidder on the project at $3,730. (See the plan here.)

A plaque with Noblique's name will be displayed by the sculpture, O'Connell said.