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Home > News & Events > CLA Today Archive > Winter 2006 : Carved in Stone

Carved in Stone

by Sue Banovetz

Never in her wildest dreams did Christine Podas-Larson ('70) ever imagine that one day she would be a rock star. But that moniker describes her pretty well these days.

As president of Public Art Saint Paul, Podas-Larson is a driving force behind "Minnesota Rocks! The International Stone Carving Symposium,” which will be held in Saint Paul in May and June 2006.

The event will bring 14 master stone sculptors from around the world and Minnesota to create artworks from big blocks of Minnesota stone on the lawn of Saint Paul College. At this highly visible intersection of Kellogg Boulevard and Summit Avenue, a public spotlight will shine on the ancient art of stone carving.

“Artists from Japan, Germany, China, Mexico, Zimbabwe, India, Egypt, Finland, and Minnesota join together in six weeks of creativity and share their unique creative perspectives and cultural traditions in bringing forth sculptures from Minnesota stone,” says Podas-Larson. "Minnesota Rocks! will bridge cultures and foster international amity through the creation of art.”

Minnesota Rocks! is just one of a long line of successes of Public Art Saint Paul under her vision and leadership. President since the non-profit organization's inception in 1987, Podas-Larson has been a dynamic and ardent impetus for change. The goal: To engage artists in shaping public places that foster imagination, illuminate civic history, and strengthen public places as the vessels of civic life.

Public Art Saint Paul works with artists, public agencies, private organizations and institutions, and community groups to commission works of art for public places. The organization also works with artists to shape public places and structures, parks, plazas, streetscapes, bridges, and gardens.

“Art is an integral dimension of city-building, not just a mere decoration added after the fact,” says Podas-Larson. "It's vital that artists be engaged in the design of the city and be at the table in the beginning as shapers of the public realm.”

Podas-Larson stresses the public excitement that has been created about what artists' roles can, and should, be in the shaping and design of a city. When artist Jamie Carpenter designed the Wabasha Street Bridge, public art programs everywhere were emboldened; never before had an artist designed a bridge, says Podas-Larson. The result is a bridge that links the downtown to Raspberry Island and whose soaring lines connect the Mississippi River to the sky. The vision for the bridge, she says, spurred Saint Paul to focus on the city's riverfront.

Public Art Saint Paul's portfolio is thick and wide-ranging: It includes the Western Sculpture Park, Mears Park, Selby Avenue Bridge, Saint Paul Cultural Garden, Ramsey County Juvenile and Family Justice Center, Harriet Island Gateway, F. Scott Fitzgerald statue in Rice Park, and Touchstone Energy Place at RiverCentre.

And it all began in CLA—in particular, with history professors David Harris Wilson and Theofanis Stavrou. "David Harris Wilson was an amazing teacher and performer. Because of him, I got hooked on history,” says Podas-Larson. "In fact, I still have his book, The History of England; I read and consult it every month.”

But it was Stavrou's History of the Ottoman Empire that really got her hooked. "His lectures were filled with compelling information, poetically written, and beautifully delivered,” she says. "Just after I graduated, I went on a tour to Russia and Cyprus, led by Theo. It was that trip and the people I connected with that inspired me to land my first job—assistant to the Walker Art Center's registrar.”

Later, working in community affairs at American National Bank, Podas-Larson led the effort to bring original works of art by local artists to the bank. She was so successful that she left the bank to form Art Acquisitions, developing art collections for major corporations, including St. Paul Companies, Pillsbury, and Cray Research.

It was in this role that she worked with The St. Paul Companies to curate a major art exhibit that focused on the Mississippi River. "This exhibit had a direct impact on the city and its view of itself, leading to a study of public art programs all across the country,” says Podas-Larson. "The study, commissioned and published by the St. Paul Companies, recommended that for art to happen in the public sphere, a separate independent, nonprofit organization needed to be formed. Public Art Saint Paul is that organization.”