alumnus profile: Jason Jaspersen, Class of ’97
Jaspersen’s turn to influence young artists By Emma Baumann Communication Specialist
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s a young aspiring artist, Jason Jaspersen lamented that his high school, Minnesota Valley Lutheran (MVL) in New Ulm, Minnesota, didn’t have an art program. Now, as an art teacher there, he is thankful for the opportunity to watch firsthand as the MVL art program expands and improves. Since Jaspersen could not study art during the school year at MVL, he opted to spend a few weeks each summer attending the Young Michelangelo Art Camp at Bethany Lutheran College. “One or two weeks during the summer kept me going all year,” he explains. Although he hadn’t initially planned on attending Bethany for college, Jaspersen’s experience with the art camp influenced his decision. “I would definitely credit Bethany with my choice to become an artist,” he says. He received his associate’s degree from Bethany in 1997, and then went on to earn a bachelor of fine arts degree at Minnesota State University, Mankato in 2000. In his current position at MVL, and as a freelance artist, Jaspersen always has a steady stream of work. But it didn’t start out that way. His commissioned work came about through a set of unlikely circumstances that got him to where he is today. “Crisis and controversy…and emergencies have been good for me,” Jaspersen says of the opportunities that emerged from difficult times. The same is also true about his call to MVL. What was supposed to be a oneyear temporary call turned into seven years of teaching, and Jaspersen couldn’t be happier. Thanks to recent renovations at MVL, the art department has been transformed from a small one-room classroom to two large studio art rooms, complete with education that lasts beyond a lifetime
Photo by David Norris
Jason Jaspersen in one of the art classrooms where he teaches at Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School in New Ulm, Minnesota.
enough space and equipment needed for every art class. As for Jaspersen’s commissioned projects, he explains that public art is special because it becomes part of a person’s experience when they visit a certain place. For example, his latest project— four cement-cast relief sculptures—can be seen at the entrance of the Watonwan County Library in St. James, Minnesota. The relief sculptures portray ‘what’s in a library,’ including three images of different readers and one six-foot long image of a book. “It was a particularly good experience,” Jaspersen comments. He hopes the sculptures will leave an impression on visitors of the library. From a high school student looking for a place to study art, to an art instructor teaching at his former high school, Jaspersen has come full circle. Although there are more public sculptures in the works, Jaspersen isn’t quite sure what’s in store for the future. His advice: “God is in charge. Just do your work.”
Some of Jaspersen’s relief sculptures in progress for the Wantonwan County Library in St. James, Minnesota.
Photo courtesy of Jason Jaspersen
View more photos of Jason Jaspersen’s work at: flickr.com/ photos/jjjaspersen
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