MEDIA CONTACT:                  

 Vanessa Ormsby, RCA Communications  Manager

(361) 729-5519 / vanessa@rockportartcenter.com

ROCKPORT MEMORIAL DAY CEREMONY TO SHOWCASE SCULPTURE HONORING WWII VETERANS

Annual Veterans Memorial Park event to include dedication of newly installed bronze work

ROCKPORT, Texas (May 19, 2023) — Rockport Center for the Arts (RCA) today announced this year’s Memorial Day ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park will include the dedication of The Last Man Standing, a life-sized bronze sculpture honoring WWII veterans by artist Andy Sacksteder.

Made possible by RCA and the generosity of an anonymous donor, The Last Man Standing depicts an aged WWII veteran standing as tall and proud as his stooped frame allows, saluting the flag with his wheelchair just behind him. The statue was installed on May 11 at Veterans Memorial Park adjacent to Rockport Harbor, prominently displayed near the park entrance. The Memorial Day ceremony will be held on May 29 at a time yet to be announced.

“We are pleased to partner with the Aransas County Navigation District to bring The Last Man Standing to Veterans Park,” said Luis Purón, executive director for RCA. “It’s a beautiful, moving piece and a heartfelt tribute by the artist in exactly the right location in our community. We are honored to bring it to Rockport for all to enjoy.”

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, of the more than 16 million Americans who served in World War II, just over 167,000 were still alive in 2022 with that number falling by an average of 180 each day. Sacksteder, the son of a WW II Navy vet, was inspired by his father’s harrowing tales of war to create the bronze tribute to the last generation of soldiers and nation builders.

“Yielding to the inalterable process of aging, the men and women who fought and won the great conflict are now in their nineties and older,” said Sacksteder, “and as they pass on, the memories of World War II — its sights and sounds, its terrors and triumphs — disappear. I wanted to capture their experience, reflect the glories and horrors of war in the veteran’s wise etched face while conveying the great pride and love of country through a hand raised in a timeless salute.”

Cast in bronze, the veteran, standing around 6 feet tall, and the wheelchair weigh approximately 300 pounds combined. The sculpture is part of RCA’s permanent collection and is number 3 in an open edition of 15.

After graduating from The Ohio State University with a B.A. in landscape horticulture, Sacksteder’s artistic flair for landscape design quickly earned him a solid reputation as a master at his craft, but it wasn’t until 2008 at the age of 52 that he decided to pursue his true passion to become a sculptor. With encouragement and guidance from a local sculptor who handed him his first chunk of clay, Sacksteder began his self-taught artistic journey by creating busts from photographs of his children, magazines and works of art, all while studying countless books and CDs on portrait sculpture and human anatomy. His natural artistic talent combined with a keen eye for detail and amazing ability to capture a person’s likeness has allowed him to create life-like three-dimensional works of art from one-dimensional images.

Since beginning his successful new career, the award-winning sculptor has been commissioned to create numerous works for public display and private collections alike, including First and Ten depicting legendary Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes for a business in Columbus, Ohio, and Young Ernest Hemingway for Petoskey, Mich., where the famous writer spent his childhood summers.

For more information on Rockport Center for the Arts, visit rockportartcenter.com, follow RCA on Facebook, or call (361) 729-5519.

About Rockport Center for the Arts

The new 1.2-acre Rockport Center for the Arts is located a block away from Aransas Bay in the heart of the Rockport Cultural Arts District. Designed by the award-winning team at Richter Architects, the state-of-the-art campus features a two-story, 14,000-square-foot, visual arts and education building with four galleries and five classrooms (204 S. Austin St.); a one-story, 8,000-square-foot conference and event center, known as The ROCC, including a 4,400-square-foot ballroom and culinary arts kitchen (106 S. Austin St.); with a 16,000-square-foot Sculpture Garden serving as a visually inspiring transition space between the two buildings. Hours of operation for the showroom, galleries, and gift shop are Tuesday–Saturday from 10 a.m.–5 p.m., and Sunday from noon–4 p.m. Admission is always free. For general information and to become a member, visit rockportartcenter.com, follow RCA on Facebook, or call (361) 729-5519. For information on event space, or to book an event, contact Paulette Kluge at (361) 960-2090.

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