BLOOMINGTON, IN.- The City of Bloomington has announced that a limestone sculpture by local artist Dale Enochs has been selected as the signature artwork piece for the B-Line Trail.

Titled "Bloomington Banquet", the sculpture features a table and chairs made of Indiana limestone, with an eclectic place setting made of plate steel, stainless steel and anodized aluminum. In all, it will be 23 feet at its highest point, with the table and chairs designed so trail users can pass underneath to more closely view intricate carvings which will adorn the lower sections of the sculpture.

The design for "Bloomington Banquet", according to Enochs, incorporates important elements from the community, such as the site's proximity to City Hall and the former Showers Brothers Furniture, the City of Bloomington's Community Farmers' Market and the annual Taste of Bloomington festival.

Enochs added that the design also references the community's bounty of cultural opportunities, its openness and its pervasive spirit of generosity.

"Bloomington is well known as a destination that feeds the soul," Enochs said. "This sculpture is intended to make reference to this basic human need that Bloomington uniquely provides for. The dinner table is known as the peaceful meeting place for all cultures. It is where we all take sustenance and exchange experience. A significant part of Bloomington is its cultural mix which comes to the forefront in the multicultural arts and foods available in our community. We are well known to celebrate ethnicity and divergent cultures in Bloomington as well as to generously support our neighbors in need. One chair of the composition is even pulled back as a visual invitation for the viewer to partake in that offering."

Enochs has worked in Bloomington as an artist, primarily in limestone, for over 25 years. He received his MFA from Indiana University in 1981 and his work is held in international as well as U.S. collections. Recent commissions include "Sculpture in the Park" in White River State Park in Indianapolis and a wall relief, "Elemental Indiana," at the new Indianapolis International Airport.

"Bloomington Banquet" was chosen by a five-member selection panel from three final proposals in a process administered by the City of Bloomington Community Arts Commission. The Percentage for the Arts-funded project is expected to cost $50,000 and is scheduled for installation in early summer 2009.