Jack E. Anderson (September 10, 1929December 5, 1993) was a metal sculptor of large commemorative

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or Casting (metalworking), cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to ...

s that are

roadside attraction A roadside attraction is a feature along the side of a road meant to attract tourists. In general, these are places one might stop on the way to somewhere, rather than being a destination. They are frequently advertised with billboard (advertis ...

s in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

. His work includes the tall figure that is part of the Iron Man statue at the entrance to the Ironworld Discovery Center, 1.3 kilometers outside

Chisholm, Minnesota Chisholm is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 4,775 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city has been called "The Heart of the Iron Range" due to its location i ...

, and a statue dedicated to Bishop Baraga in

L'Anse, Michigan L'Anse ( ) is a village and the county seat of Baraga County, Michigan in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,874 at the 2020 census. The village is located within L'Anse Township in the Upper Peninsula and partially inside the L'A ...

. Anderson died December 5, 1993, while living in Chassell, Michigan.

Iron Man

The Iron Man sculpture was erected as a tribute to miners of the Mesabi, Cuyuna, and Vermilion Iron Ranges of northeastern Minnesota. It is accompanied by a plaque with Veda Ponikvar's ''The Emergence of Man Through Steel'' poem and was completed in 1987 out of

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

. The statue, located on U.S. Route 169 in Minnesota, is the third largest Metal statue in the United States (behind the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...

and Our Lady of the Rockies).
Historical marker data base
Iron Range Tourism Bureau The sculpture weighs (the shovel weighs and each boot weighs ); the base is constructed of

Corten steel Weathering steel, often referred to by the genericised trademark COR-TEN steel and sometimes written without the hyphen as corten steel, is a group of steel alloys that form a stable external layer of rust that eliminates the need for painti ...

, which turns red with exposure.

Bishop Baraga statue

The commemorative

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

for Bishop Frederic Baraga, the legendary "Snowshoe Priest", was built after organizing efforts in 1969 by residents of Baraga County and county clerk, author, and historian Bernard Lambert. They formed a foundation to plan and create the religious/historical monumentBishop Baraga
Copper Country website and chose L'Anse ("end of the bay" in French) as the site because it was an area often traveled by Baraga. Anderson of Copper Country Arts in Lake Linden presented a

scale model A scale model is a physical model that is geometrically similar to an object (known as the ''prototype''). Scale models are generally smaller than large prototypes such as vehicles, buildings, or people; but may be larger than small protot ...

for the proposed high shrine inspired by Lambert's book ''Shepherd of the Wilderness''. The statue features a " tall, hand-wrought

brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

statue of Baraga holding a

cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

in his right hand and a pair of

snowshoe Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footw ...

s in his left" that "would ‘float' on a silver cloud of stainless steel" with

laminate Simulated flight (using image stack created by μCT scanning) through the length of a knitting needle that consists of laminated wooden layers: the layers can be differentiated by the change of direction of the wood's vessels Shattered windshi ...

d wood beams rising from five concrete

tepee A tipi or tepee ( ) is a conical lodging, lodge tent that is distinguished from other conical tents by the smoke flaps at the top of the structure, and historically made of animal hide (skin), hides or fur, pelts or, in more recent generations, ...

s "representing missions established by Bishop Baraga", and set on top of the red rocks overlooking

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

's Keweenaw Bay on land donated by the Patrick Ellico family. Anderson began his work in 1970 with co-sculptor Arthur Chaput, Jr., while Yalmer Mattila Contracting Company of

Houghton, Michigan Houghton (; ) is the largest city and county seat of Houghton County, Michigan, Houghton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located on the Keweenaw Peninsula, Houghton is the largest city in the Copper Country region. It is the fifth-larges ...

, worked on the supporting base. Copper mined at the Copper Range Company's White Pine (Michigan) mine was made into brass and donated by the mining company. The Upper Peninsula Power Company provided free technical assistance, and the Evergreen Nurseries of Allegan, Michigan, donated a landscaping plan. The statue was placed on the pedestal on June 14, 1972. While the statue was being lowered and attached, a welding torch, which was being used to trim the bottom of the statue, ignited polyurethane insulation in the statue, "scorching the lacquer coating on the statue's exterior". A dedication took place on September 16, 1973, as part of the annual Bishop Baraga Day Mass. It included blessings from Reverend Charles A. Salatka, Bishop of the Diocese of Marquette (the eighth successor to Bishop Baraga), and Reverend John Hascall, a Native American pastor in the Marquette Diocese, who "concluded the rite with prayer and burning of sweet grass, a traditional ritual used by Native Americans for all blessing." The Shrine site is near the trail that was used by the local

Ojibwa The Ojibwe (; syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the northern plains, extending into the subarctic and thro ...

and Bishop Baraga during their travels.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Jack E. American contemporary sculptors 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists American male sculptors 1993 deaths 1929 births People from Chassell, Michigan

Iron Man

Bishop Baraga statue

See also

References