Stainless Steel Sculpture

Charles Huntington

Installation Date: 1989

Materials: Stainless Steel Sculpture

Description:

The stainless steel sculpture is 18-feet tall and weighs 1,500 pounds.  It was coined as the "jewel of the future arts plaza" at the Mayo Civic Center.  The artist, Charles Huntington, noted that there is no specific theme to the sculpture except that he wanted something that would catch the eye of the viewer.  He chose stainless steel as his material to reflect the sunlight and attract attention.

About the artist:

Charles Huntington, an American Indian artist of Ojibwe descent, was born in Niagara, Wis, on May 29, 1925. His family moved to the Minneapolis-St Paul area when he was an infant, and his formative years were spent there. After a 4-year tour of duty in the US Navy from 1942 to 1946 and subsequent employment as an auto mechanic, Huntington attended the Minneapolis School of Art (now known as the Minnesota College of Art and Design) for 1 year (1959-1960). For the next 3 years, he was an assistant to Paul Granlund (1925-2003), another well-known Minnesota sculptor who was an artist-in-residence at Gustavus Adolphus College in St Peter, Minn. Huntington honed his skills in sculpture under Granlund's tutelage, learning to build sculptures from found objects and by casting metal. He was invited to be an artist-in-residence for the Minneapolis Public School system and is the subject of a Minneapolis Public School teacher's guide on Native American art and artists.