Artist has Crystal River connection
By James Card
In December 2018, an anonymous person donated $25,000 to the city of Waupaca.
The money was to be used to create a “unique art project” in the downtown area.
Working with the donor, the city staff and members of the arts community launched a search in 2021 to find an artist with a suitable vision for the project.
They ended up selecting an artist who has exhibited his work throughout the country and internationally, and has fond memories of paddling the Crystal River when he was a kid.
“The sculpture for this project centers on the multiple water outings I’ve had on the Chain O’ Lakes around Waupaca, but most enthusiastically around the memories of excitement and jubilee when I visited Ding’s Docks for trips down the Crystal River with family and friends,” wrote Luke Achterberg in the sculpture proposal.
Achterberg grew up in Berlin, went to UW-La Crosse and earned a bachelor’s of arts degree, along with a technical welding diploma from Western Wisconsin Technical College.
He honed his welding skills at a custom job shop.
He then went to the University of Kentucky and received a master of fine arts degree with a focus on sculpture and ceramics.
From there he launched his career and his artwork has been exhibited from San Antonio, Texas to Basel, Switzerland.
Along the way he picked up a few prestigious awards such as one from the International Sculpture Center in New Jersey and another from the Art-St-Urban in Switzerland.
Gregory Grohman, the city’s grant writer, presented Achterberg’s vision to the city council at the Feb. 1 meeting.
He brought in a small scale model of the sculpture, passed it around to council members and explained that when it is finished, it would be 12 feet tall and 5 feet wide and three feet in depth.
River connection
The proposed sculpture is titled; “Cresting Canoe Atop the Great Wave of Waupaca” and it will be of a canoe floating on a wave.
The wave will be fabricated out of stainless steel square tubes and flat bars and be painted with blue automotive acrylic and a yellow canoe will be balanced atop the wave. This will be seated on a large metal plate that will be bolted into the sidewalk.
It will be installed near the American Family Insurance building in downtown Waupaca.
“He’s an internationally recognized artist living in Wisconsin and we are lucky to have his talent represented in our community,” said Grohman.
Justin Berens, director of public works, reviewed the project for structural integrity, safety concerns and liability issues since the art will be in a public right-of-way.
Berens described the sculpture as a “giant metal sail,” and the foundation would have to be improved for better anchoring.
As for liability, insurance-wise, the sculpture would be treated the same as if a driver crashed a car into a city street light. Also they would put up a “Do Not Climb” sign.
“So we don’t have rascals climbing on it,” Berens said.
Ald. Eric Olson asked if someone did try to climb up and get into the canoe for a photo op, would it be stable?
Achterberg, who attended the meeting by video from his residence in Onalaska, assured the structure would be solid.
“I think it’s an awesome project and it’s going to add something in our downtown that a lot of communities don’t have. And it adds to our artsy feel that we have down there. And it fits, too, if you think about it: the river, the canoes, and that’s something that we all remember as we grow up in the Waupaca area. I think you’ve hit it right on,” said Mayor Brian Smith.
The council unanimously approved the agreement for the commission of public artwork.
In the proposal, Achterberg wrote that he can have the sculpture installed by late July or early August 2022 which would be in time for the city’s Arts on the Square celebration.