'Woman Of Steel And Stone' By Joliet Artist Dante DiBartolo Wasn't Joliet's Top Choice

JOLIET, IL —A Joliet Patch review of the six public art finalists selected for Joliet's new downtown City Square show that local artist Dante DiBartolo proposed creating a 9-foot-tall bronze statue paying tribute to Joliet's history and architecture. A resident of Elwood, DiBartolo called his bronze sculpture The Woman Of Steel and Stone.

"I wanted to create a sculpture with a strong visual presence," DiBartolo's proposal explained. "The sculpture is a large portrait of a woman with elements of Steel and Stone forming the neck and blending into the face. Joliet was known as the city of Steel and Stone. Steel production and Limestone quarries making up a large part of the city history. Those elements making up the foundation of her neck representing strength built from our history. The stone and steel forms blend into the face."

On Feb. 28, 2023, DiBartolo was the focus of a noteworthy Joliet Patch praising his public artwork in a story headlined, "Rialto Unveils New “Twin Centennial” Mural. The mural, painted by DiBartolo, was created to celebrate the centennial of both Rialto Square Theatre and Route 66 in Illinois.

Last October, DiBartolo was one of several Joliet artists featured in a Joliet Patch article highlighting Joliet's Downtown Music Box Project. When people approach the city's newly decorated utility boxes throughout the downtown, they're encouraged to scan the QR code to listen to the music that inspired that particular artist. There are 10 music boxes in total.

As for Joliet's City Square downtown project, while DiBartolo's proposed 9-foot-tall bronze statue made the six finalists, Joliet's non-elected advisory panel, the Joliet Arts Commission, ultimately did not feel The Woman Of Steel And Stone was worthy of being its top choice.

Now, an entire year later, the city of Joliet finds itself at a crossroads after Mayor Terry D'Arcy pulled his recommended piece of artwork from Tuesday night's meeting agenda.

Last week, D'Arcy proposed the $197,000 expenditure for Sijia Chen, the Chinese-born artist who now lives in Los Angeles and issued a City Hall press release endorsing her Dome of Unity.

Unlike the Dome of Unity, Elwood resident DiBartolo noted that images of the Joliet Steel Mill and the Slammers baseball stadium are incorporated into the skin of The Woman of Steel And Stone as are other aspects of Joliet's heritage.

"Images of the Jefferson Street Bridge and the Old Joliet Prison are incorporated into the skin. I can work with the city to include additional images of city landmarks when the final scale model is produced," DiBartolo informed the city of Joliet in his sculpture proposal last year.

"The female form representing the beauty of art and symbolizing nurturing and community. Her features also have elements of Iconic parts of Joliet showcasing the historic architecture the city is known for," DiBartolo's proposal to Joliet outlined. "All these elements surround the torch and tree on the back side of the sculpture. The tree symbolizing the people of Joliet and their passion and energy. The torch showing illumination and inspiration towards the future."

DiBartolo explained that his Woman Of Steel And Stone will be 9 feet tall and roughly 6-7 feet wide. When completed, it will weigh approximately 800-1,000 lbs.

DiBartolo submitted a detailed budget proposal for his sculpture, which you can review at the bottom of the story, offering an extensive breakdown for all his costs. His total project budget would be $200,000 and that included money necessary for its installation.

DiBartolo said he would need five or six months to do the clay sculpting and the foundry will need four or five months to cast and finish the bronze. Total time nine to 11 months.

"Bronze is extremely durable and resistant to corrosion and will require almost no maintenance. Every few years it would be recommended to clean it with mild soap and water to remove dirt and dust build up," DiBartolo pointed out. "In the case of extreme damage (vandalism or e.g. a car or vehicle striking it), keeping the molds in storage will allow easy re-casting of damage sections.

"I factored a foundation and lighting into the budget. If these two elements end up not being required, I will shift the money into extra details in the surface of the sculpture and extra pay for the assistants."

According to meeting minutes from October 2, 2024, the following discussion is why the Joliet Arts Commission rejected DiBartolo's Woman Of Steel And Stone as their favorite:

"Several commissioners stated that they felt this entry was the most symbolic of Joliet's history and culture. Commissioner Gorder stated that the sculpture seemed too familiar with many of the figurative, gender-specific, sculptures that are already abundant in Joliet. Other commissioners felt that the sculpture might not be contemporary enough for this project and location. The Commission discussed that while it is nice to have a local artist in the final pool of candidates, it would also be nice to have a national or international artist's work shown prominently in Joliet."

Joliet Arts Commission members present for the discussion on the Dome Of Unity and the Woman Of Steel And Stone were Eric Gorder, John Simpson Jr, Peg (Marguerite) Stoiber, Ron Romero, Vince Logan, Tom Grotovsky and Deborah Summers.

As Joliet Patch reported Wednesday morning, two of the seven members did not consider The Dome of Unity as their top choice, they preferred a piece of artwork called "Joy."