The Daily Dispatch

Although the late Fritz Scholder thought North Dakota winters were too harsh, therefore leaving him a lot of time to create art, he credited his years in the city of Wahpeton as motivating and fulfilling.

Area art enthusiast Roger Jensen and the Wahpeton Park Board seek to honor Scholder with a sculpture representing the authenticity of his art work. For nearly a week, a prototype of the piece, designed by Jensen, has been standing north of Hughes Shelter in Chahinkapa Park for park board commissioners and the public to view and voice their opinion.

"We're trying to look at it favorably that we recognized his efforts and talents," Jensen said. "I made a collage that would represent his type of work without directly copying the piece."

Jensen, who’s been a fan of the Breckenridge native for years, based the design off of a combination of Scholder’s graphics, paintings and moldings. Scholder is well-known for his portrayal of landscapes, dogs, American Indians, women and flowers.

Jensen first presented a sketch of the 18-foot Scholder statute at a March park board meeting. The board at that time allocated $2,000 to the final phase of assembly.

"Fritz Scholder was certainly interesting, intriguing and incorporated Native American elements in his work," said Wahpeton Parks and Recreation Director Wayne Beyer. "It helps you understand the thought process he put into his sculptures. It has a lot of traits that Mr. Scholder had in his art.”

The mock design, made out of plywood, is only permanent. Jensen indicated the final piece will be entirely steel and would be erected without all the frame work visible.

“I might refine it just a little bit, but not too much,” Jensen said. “People do seem to enjoy it, they say it’s colorful.”

The location of the final sculpture remains open for discussion, although Beyer indicated it may be a good fit for a sculpture garden – a concept the park board has discussed openly.

“I think [Roger] has done a nice job with it. It’s something that will catch your attention, it would make a person wonder and I think that’s what art is intended to do,” Beyer said.

Park Board Commissioner Deb Tobias said Wednesday she likes the piece and it fits in well where it is located currently.

“I think it looks really nice,” she said. “I think I like the location too, it fills [the area] in a little bit.”

Scholder’s work is currently on display in a Washington D.C. institution – the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. In his lifetime, he was the recipient of awards from the Rockefeller Foundation, the John Hay Whitney Foundation, the Ford Foundation and the American Academy of the Arts.

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