Mar 23, 2026
The History of Perspectives and Artist Charles Huntington
By Kayla Williams / News Reporter and Shay Lelonek / News Director
ST. CLOUD, Minn. — A man from Niagara, Wisconsin, became a self-taught artist, and one of his sculptures still carries his legacy at SCSU.
Just outside Stewart Hall stands a large outdoor steel sculpture called “Perspectives” that was created by Charles Huntington. The sculpture is 12 feet tall and 18 feet wide, and can be viewed from different angles. As people walk around it, the shape and lines look different, which is how it earned its name.
At the beginning of 1988, artists across the country were asked to submit ideas for an exterior sculpture for SCSU to a local committee. Four of these artists, including Huntington, Janet Lofquist, John Van Alstine, and Alexander Hunenko, were selected to present models of their sculptures during a November 15, 1988, event at Atwood Memorial Center, SCSU.
After the presentation, Charles Huntington was commissioned to construct his sculpture for Atwood Mall, according to a November 23, 1988, press release.
According to the release, the artwork was funded, in part, by the Percent for Art in Public Places program. The program was created in 1983 by the Minnesota Legislature, requiring state agencies to designate one percent of the budget for new buildings or renovations to be set aside for art.
According to SCSU Archivist Tom Steman, in 1988, Stewart Hall was renovated, and SCSU set aside $71,000 for art, which was one percent of the overall renovation costs ($6.5 million). Of that $71,000, $45,000 was specifically set aside for Huntington’s sculpture.
The sculpture was dedicated in May 1990, according to the release, and presented again two months later, during the Lemonade Concert and Art Fair. Huntington was tasked with unveiling a sculpture for the Atwood Mall, just outside of Stewart Hall.
According to the release, Mary Soroko, who was the assistant vice president of administrative affairs and program chair at the time, said, “We wanted a sculpture that would produce a sense of community ownership and be a symbol of the university.”
Huntington left a message about his piece that is found on the plaque in front of the sculpture that reads:
“My work represents the interaction of St. Cloud State University students, faculty, and administrators, all working together toward a similar and thus common goal, but often having vastly different perspectives on the educational process. The medium and its shapes chosen draw on the human energy exhibited by campus pedestrians and movements to introduce a formal element to a vibrant, functional environment. Depending on where the viewer stands, the season, or weather conditions, they will see a different perspective of their surroundings.”
About Huntington
Charles Huntington was born in May 1925 in Niagara, Wisconsin. He is an Ojibwe Native and joined the U.S. Navy at age 17, and served during World War II. He studied at Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 1960, but did not finish his degree.
After the war, he raced and repaired cars. He then became interested in found-object art, collecting materials from junkyards, and later began creating sculptures using original materials rather than found objects.
According to the November 23, 1988, press release from SCSU, Huntington’s artistic statement was, “Visual creation depends upon the artist’s ability to see and judge relationships; the measure of success of a visually creative individual is the extent to which he is able to see and judge the relationships that he has produced.”
Huntington is a self-taught sculptor. Despite his limited formal education, he became known as one of Minnesota’s top sculptors. He died on March 20, 2017.
SCSU and Perspectives
Today, Perspectives remains an important part of campus art at St. Cloud State University. It connects students to the school’s history and shows how art can be part of everyday life, but the information on where to look is scarce.
Steman said many students overlook art on campus that is everywhere, yet not easy to find or take notice of.
Students being focused on going to class causes them not to take much from it
Steman said a student had told him the piece “looks like three pieces of cheese with holes in it,” yet he appreciates the art on campus, though it doesn’t strongly connect with him.
Cat Ahmed, a 19-year-old sophomore at SCSU, said it’s “cool that we have a sculpture in the middle of campus … even if students aren’t fully interested or understand the meaning.”
Ahmed had also said, “I think art on campus is important, but I wish there was more information about it so students could easily learn what it is.”
SCSU staff and students recognize the artwork, yet they don’t acknowledge it. Ahmed said the plaques of art should be more noticeable for students to connect better to what is around them.
Here are some locations in Minnesota where Huntington’s art is on display:
- Mayo Clinic
- Normandale Community College
- Black Forest Inc.
- South High School
- University of Wisconsin
- General Mills Metro Interchange Park
