Artist Craig Bergsgaard, formerly of Spring Grove, has recently had the honor of having one of his sculptures, "Memorare, Sand Creek 1864," featured in this month's edition of "Western Art Collector" magazine.
The piece has also been selected to become a permanent part of the collection at Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, Ga.
"Memorare" is a sculpture that stands 24 inches tall and is described on Bergsgaard's website, "Depicts a Native American man bearing his wife's lifeless body as he clutches two arrows and a fragment of an American flag."
Part of the gut reaction felt by viewing the piece comes from the story behind the sculpture. On Nov. 29, 1864, Colorado volunteer soldiers attacked a Cheyenne and Arapaho encampment located along Sand Creek in Colorado.
Bergsgaard was profoundly affected by the historical event, stating, "There are many episodes or events in history that beg exposure. I think a combination of Black Kettle's desire to preserve his 'way of life' by choosing peace and subsequently being promised safety by flying the American flag play the central role in my need to illuminate this event in my own way."
Being a veteran of the United States Air Force, Bergsgaard finds the image stirred by the Sand Creek Massacre is emotionally overpowering.
He wanted to use this visual medium to tell the story, which not only portrays a man's raw, emotional response to the atrocity, but also evokes a raw, emotional response in the viewer of the piece.
Creating this piece has been on Bergsgaard's mind for years, but the actual physical work to sculpt "Memorare" took him six months. "It may seem esoteric," he says, "but I rarely try to design a piece such as this prior to starting. I take a very basic visual and let it lead me to its final form. I find it much more interesting in retrospect to analyze my own result."
Bergsgaard drew his motivation for the piece from Michelangelo's "Pieta." He says he was also influenced by the sculptor's "obsession with the human form and his ability to use line and form to evoke emotion."
Having the piece featured in "Western Art Collector" as well as placed in the collection of the Booth Western Art Museum is great honor to Bergsgaard.
"Of course, I am thrilled personally and professionally," he says. "I don't necessarily seek validation through this, but I suppose all artists want to be taken seriously, and if this piece effects some good, then I have done my job."
He says that the museum will acquire "Memorare" at the end of this month, but the dedication date for the piece has not been set as yet.
How he got started
Bergsgaard says that he wasn't particularity interested in art before he began sculpting. "I'm not sure when I started calling what I do art," he says.
After he left the military in 1977, Bergsgaard worked construction and found a hobby in woodworking, making custom furniture.
He eventually realized he had what he terms a "creative drive," noting that, "Life seemed to come into focus after that epiphany."
At the suggestion of a friend, he tried his hand at sculpting, and in the mid-1990s he found an art form that that he has been pursuing since.
He sculpts pieces that primarily portray Western themes, drawing inspiration from the beauty of the landscape as well as the people, but he also has classical and romantic forms on his gallery list.
Bergsgaard has also been commissioned for public works projects such as the pieces he created for Spring Grove - "The Quest," "Ola & Per" and "Mons Fladager."
"I stand in awe of the independent spirit and courage of the indigenous peoples as well as the settlers exhibited then and now," says Bergsgaard of the forms his sculpture tend to take.
It was in 2004 that Bergsgaard made the decision to become a full-time artist. He credits his wife JoAnn, whom he met in Colorado, as providing the support he needed to make the jump into pursuing art full-time.
"I think once we get to the point of discovering the driving force in our life," says Bergsgaard, "we owe it to ourselves to 'follow our bliss.' In reality, fulfillment is the only true measure of personal success."
Hometown boy keeps connection
Bergsgaard was raised on his family's farm six miles south of Spring Grove and graduated from high school from the community.
He still has ties to the area, with his brother Bruce and his sister-in-law Betty residing on the family farm.
He says he doesn't have any plans for future pieces, noting that as an artist, he makes himself available for whatever comes his way.
"Something somewhere sometime will stir my soul to this degree, till then I am working on collectable pieces that resonate with me."
