Artist Takashi Soga’s 15-foot-tall red-metal sculpture has moved closer to being installed at Sherman Avenue and Davis Street in front of the Sherman Plaza complex with approval of the project by Evanston’s Human Services Commitee Monday night.
With a scale model of the sculpture, titled “The Sea of the Ear-Ring,” sitting on the table in front of them, the five-member committee unanimously approved paying $250,000 for the artwork.
Soga’s design won a competition held by the city seeking public art to be used at the site. Funds for the artwork were included in the tax increment financing district for the Sherman Plaza project under a city ordinance that calls for reserving a small percentage of the cost of new development projects for public art.
The project still requires the approval of the full City Council. If approved, the sculpture is scheduled to be in place by September.