Oscar the Robot stands just inside the door at The Hangar Art Company located on the north side of downtown’s Museum Square on Jefferson Street. The sight of him, next to a heavy metal piece by local artist Tom Kirk that looks like it motored itself right out of a Thomas Hart Benton painting and into the store, presents quite an intriguing entrance to the gallery for its visitors.
“I do kinetic art, which is robotic art,” said local artist Steve Flynn who built Oscar out of used car parts. In addition to Oscar, The Hangar is showcasing is a radial engine Flynn made out of Harley-Davidson parts. Flynn currently has three pieces on display in the gallery.
Tom Kirk of Kirkwood products, builds art made out of heavy metal pieces. They are large and heavy. He has built an art park of sorts consisting of a number of very large pieces that are visible west of Center Street at the viaduct south of downtown. As Kirk’s pieces go, the one in the museum is small. But Kirk’s small is still large and heavy. On top of that the piece includes a water feature, adding more weight.
According to Flynn, The Hangar building had to be assessed by architects and engineers just to make sure it could support the piece.
“To get it in here you had to totally dismantle it, bring it in piece by piece through their original doors and then spread the weight out, which they did with these girders in here,” said Flynn.
Santino Lamancusa is the person behind The Hangar Art Company. When looking for a space for a gallery he was shown a number of small spaces. Then he visited 105 W. Jefferson St.
“When we first saw the space, we joked that it was as big as an airplane hangar, and with me being an Air Force Veteran, it was too good to let go, said Lamancusa.
And with that The Hangar was born.
“We currently represent 25 artists ranging from Warrenville (Chicago) to Springfield, with 18 based right here in Bloomington,” said Lamancusa.
According to Lamancusa, it can be difficult for artists to make a living selling art. They invest a lot of time and money with no guaranteed return on investment creating works and among other things; entering shows and attending festivals. As an artist Lamancusa wanted to make it easier for others to overcome such barriers. Therefore every piece of art on display at The Hangar is consignment based.
“We don’t charge the artist anything to show their work,” said Lamncusa. “We just make a commission on sales so artists set their own price for it. We select the works from them that we curate every month.”
Peter Kimerling is a fan of The Hangar.
“I think there is an accessibility to the gallery that allows for everyone to appreciate the art and also at different price points everyone can be able to bring art home,” said Kimerling. “Having art be a perpetual part of our lives can only make things better. I think that this is what this space is all about, finding interactive and creative ways of bringing art into our lives.”
