by KARA SCHWEISS
Ken Anderson is not a Nebraska native, but he has deep Nebraska roots in both higher education and art, earning a bachelor’s degree in art from UNO in 1980, followed by a master of fine art degree (sculpture) from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1983. He then taught at Peru State College for 32 years, eventually serving as a department chair and gallery director before retiring as professor emeritus in May 2016.
So, after a lifetime in Nebraska, maybe it’s a little surprising that Anderson chose to spend his retirement elsewhere. What’s really unexpected, though, is that he didn’t move to a more temperate part of the country, but to the tiny south-central South Dakota town of Woonsocket. Anderson published a photo essay on the community in 1989. And it’s been a great place for him to continue producing art, he explained.
“I have a gallery and studio here…the studio is about two or three blocks from my house. It’s a whole hardware store building, 3,000 square feet. I do sculpture mostly. Although I’ve done drawings and prints, of course, my main focus has always been sculpture,” he said. “And I’m still lamenting that I don’t have enough time to get everything done that I want to.”
Anderson’s artworks have been featured in regional, national and international shows over the years – his windmill sculpture “House, Wind, and Water” even won a statewide competition promoting Nebraska tourism in 2008 – but he’s quick to point out with typical humor that a Google search for his name will first yield a former NFL quarterback followed by a past Disney animator who, although a fellow artist, definitely isn’t him. He’s not even the only noted artist from Nebraska named Ken Anderson. Recognition isn’t what motivates him, anyway, he said.
“To talk about accomplishments, it gets a little much,” he said. “Having a studio and the gallery and people coming by, that’s just fun. Life is but a dream, as they say… When you get to retire, every night’s Friday night and every day is Saturday.”
Anderson said he’s happy to see his son, Josh Anderson, and daughter-in-law, Jordan Acker Anderson, also find success as artists and in higher education careers.
“The thing I think I’m most proud of is the kids. I mean, look at Josh and Jordan. They’re both teaching. They’re doing better than (I did),” he said. “When Josh and Jordan went to grad school, they had to do a seminar or something on how to teach. And then they had to shadow some faculty member that teaches the same class so they would learn. And that was wonderful…they had that experience plus the knowledge of other faculty.”
By contrast, in his day there was very little formal instruction offered on how to teach college classes, Anderson said. He may have been challenged to find his own way when he started teaching, but his long-ago UNO experience was an important influence, Anderson said, providing him with excellent role models.
“I think that the faculty, more than anything, were always wonderful,” he said. “They always cared, and they always did that little extra.”
