SIDNEY — In the animated movie Bling, the hero Sam believes that only his bling ring can woo the girl of his dreams. Somehow, he confuses his ring with that of the arch villain Oscar, who is trying to destroy the city. Teaming up with his robot superheroes, Sam eventually comes to understand the moral of the story: What’s important is not the size of your bling, but the size of your heart.

Au contraire. On May 16, the Madison Square Park Conservancy, sculptor Martin Puryear, and a throng of supporters unveiled Big Bling in Madison Park, located between Madison Ave. and 23rd St. in Manhattan. The sculpture is made of wood wrapped in fine, chain-link fence with a gold-leaf shackle anchored near the top of the structure. Standing 40 feet at its crest, Big Bling dominates the park like a Trojan horse. According to Puryear, the shape is part animal, part abstract sculpture, and part intellectual meditation: “[It’s] … an image of New York.”

A Southern Tier business played a key role in developing the Big Bling sculpture.

“This is a huge project, and the first time in the 124-year history of the company that we have collaborated on manufacturing an outdoor sculpture,” says Craig Van Cott, the president of Unalam. “Jon Lash of Digital Atelier contacted us back in July [2015] to discuss creating a wooden structure 40-feet high, 10 feet wide, and 38 feet long. Our portion of the project, which included all of the wood used in the structure, would be constructed with pressure-treated laminated timbers and plywood. We began the construction in January at our Sidney plant. The sculpture was so large that we couldn’t use CNC machines; we had to build it by hand in seven sections and then assemble it.”

Every employee at Unalam had a hand in the project. “Big Bling was so big that the entire team here at the plant helped in the manufacture, assembly, and preparation for shipping,” continues Van Cott, a fifth-generation family owner of the business. “During the manufacturing process, we had a number of visitors, including the sculptor and representatives from the Madison Square Park Conservancy … Big Bling also required special riggers for assembly in New York City … We take pride in all of our work, but I think we take a little extra pride in this project. What gives me special pleasure is to know that 60,000 people a day will see the sculpture, which went on display in Madison Square Park on May 16. We are so proud of the project that 20 of us [employees] rode a bus to New York for the dedication ceremony.” On Jan. 8, 2017, Big Bling will move to Philadelphia where it will be reassembled and put on display.

The Digital Atelier began as a research and development component of the Johnson Atelier, a non-profit sculpture institution. The Atelier was established to expand the availability of 3D technology to artists to use in creating large-scale and complex sculpture. The corporation later expanded the use of technology found in industry, including the use of laser scanning, CNC milling, and coating technologies. In 2011, Digital Atelier was spun off as a private company led by Lash to continue bringing technology into the hands of artists.

The Madison Square Park Conservancy is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to protect, nurture, and enhance Madison Square Park, a seven-acre green space in the middle of Gotham’s towering buildings. The Conservancy is licensed by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to manage the park and is responsible for raising 98 percent of the funds necessary for operations. Big Bling is part of the free, cultural programs for the park’s visitors. Funding support of Big Bling and other exhibitions was provided by the Ford Foundation, Matthew Marks Gallery, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Henry Luce Foundation, Unalam, and others. Madison Square Park Conservancy launched its free art program in 2004 to celebrate sculpture exhibits by living artists and to bring world-class art to the public. Big Bling is on display until Jan. 8, 2017 when the exhibit moves to Philadelphia.

Martin Puryear was born in 1941 and earned a bachelor-of-arts degree from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. and an M.F.A. from Yale University. Among many distinguished awards, he received the Skowhegan Medal for Sculpture, a Louis Comfort Tiffany Grant, and a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. The American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters elected him to membership, and Yale University awarded him an honorary doctorate. Puryear lives and works in the Hudson Valley.

Unalam’s story
Unalam started out in 1892 as a lumber- and feed-mill. Located in Unadilla, the Van Cott family incorporated the business in 1909 as the Unadilla Silo Co. and turned to building silos for area farmers. The family began experimenting with laminated wooden rafters as early as 1928 and in 1963 established a manufacturing operation in Sidney. While Unadilla Silo Co. is still the registered corporate name, the company is known today by its d/b/a — Unalam. The Sidney plant currently employs 30 people and the corporate office, located in Unadilla, employs 10 people. The two locations comprise 310,000 square feet. Unalam sources its lumber from the Carolinas to Texas working mostly with southern pine and Douglas fir. The Business Journal estimates annual sales of $7 million to $8 million.

Van Cott, as president of Unalam, is joined in the business by members of the sixth generation of Van Cotts: his son, Leif, VP of operations; his daughter Zoé O. van der Meulen, VP of communications; and son-in-law Rik van der Meulen, VP of engineering.

Leif graduated from Boston College in 2001 with a degree in finance and moved to New Hampshire to work for Wheelabrator Technologies. He joined Unalam in 2004. Zoé graduated from Notre Dame University in 1998 with a degree in government and history. She worked in Washington, D.C. doing historical research in support of litigation before moving to Boston to begin a marketing career. She met her husband while studying in Innsbruck and married in 2000. After six years in Boston, the couple joined Unalam in 2005. Rik grew up in the Seattle area and graduated from Notre Dame in 2000 with a degree in civil engineering, concentrating on structural and environmental design. He maintains professional-engineering licenses in 11 states. Sue Van Cott, Craig’s wife, serves as the corporate secretary. The Van Cott sons, Alex and Ian, are 2016 graduates of Tulane University and serve on the Unalam board.

In the movie Bling, the protagonist discovers that the size of your heart is more important than the size of your bling. In the case of Big Bling, the opposite is true: The huge scale of the project grabs your attention and demands that you stop and contemplate its size and form. Puryear’s bling is designed to take the viewer away from the daily, mundane world that swirls around us and open the heart to meaningful contemplation.

Contact Poltenson at npoltenson@cnybj.com