Minnesota Veterans Historic Art Monument at the River’s Edge Convention Center Dedicated Thursday

(KNSI) – Thursday marked the dedication of the Minnesota Veterans Historic Art Monument at the River’s Edge Convention Center in downtown St. Cloud.

Charles Kapsner created the art, and the paintings are replicas of the eight-by-ten foot panels at Camp Ripley in Little Falls. Kapsner began the research for the images in 2009. He says with any project, “you have to start with a compositional idea, so when I started my research, I had to get a whole new military library and research each branch. Kapsner quickly realized that “each branch is its own entity, even though in times of war, they have to work as a cohesive unit, they are their own cultures.” Very early on, Kapsner said he realized that what a symbolic element of one branch wasn’t necessarily part of another.

Kapsner spent time working with the historians at Fort Snelling and the Minnesota Military Museum at Camp Ripley for the Army. When he began his work on the piece for the Navy, he met a retired Rear Admiral who sent him out to the Naval Memorial Foundation Museum in Washington DC, the Navy Yard, and out to the sub-base in Washington. For the Marines, Kapsner went out to Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. He traveled to the Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut and worked with a historian there, and Kapsner is now an official Coast Guard artist. The research for the Air Force piece was done at the Air Force Museum in Ohio.

He says the ball was slow to get rolling, but once word started to travel about what he was doing, doors began flying open for him.

“It took a little bit of time but all of a sudden, as things started to progress, I mean it was just amazing information that I was able to get the easy access, I was able to get, especially at Camp Ripley. So, just one thing sort of led to another and like I say the floodgates opened up and it’s been really cool.”

He had 45 different models representing 85 different individuals. Overall, he estimates there are roughly 130 drawings in his studio, if not more. Plus, five small compositional sketches, five larger ones, and five color studies.

St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis, an Air Force Veteran himself, was thrilled with the final piece and pleased that so many people put so much time and effort into making it a reality.

“A lot of folks put a lot of money into it. This is not an endeavor that happened overnight. I think this was over 15 years, so a lot of dedication to a lot of folks, and a lot of sponsors. You see the names on there. These folks all contributed to not only the original paintings, but all of these dedicated places around the state, so that’s great for St. Cloud.”

St. Cloud Senator Aric Putnam, fresh off a marathon session at the Capitol, was also on hand for the dedication, saying, “This is a permanent reminder of the sacrifices of others, and inspiration for the rest of us to sacrifice, too. Not just for special circumstances, but for every chance we get.”

The artwork is near the Baseball Hall of Fame Museum and can be viewed by the public once the convention center reopens for events. There is also an interactive kiosk for visitors to learn more about the artwork and history behind it.

Senator Aric Putam, Mayor Dave Kleis and a an onlooker take in the Minnesota Veterans Historic Art Monument (Jennifer Lewerenz/KNSI News)

___

Artist Charlses Kapsner speaks with King Banian who narrated the interactive kiosk (Jennifer Lewerenz/KNSI News)

Marco, Ickler, Inc, Morgan Family Foundation, Coborns Family Foundation, Stearns Bank, Freedom Flight, Bernick Family Foundation, and Rice Companies all sponsor the interactive kiosk educational display.

The Minnesota State Veterans Memorial Association commissioned the original artwork which hangs at Camp Ripley and provided support for the Minnesota Veterans Historic Art Monument.

___