Sculpture's rocky road finally ends at Caponi Art Park

"Praying Mantis" emerged from the scrap heap nearly five decades ago.

Inspired by what others had discarded, Eagan artist Anthony Caponi welded old Cadillac bumpers into the smooth chrome curves and dark recesses of a sculpture he would later name after the predatory insect known for its pious posture.

It's had an eventful life since then: "Praying Mantis" has been presented as a gift, sold to admiring entomologists, stolen, ransomed and nearly demolished.

Today, the sculpture has been reconceived under the artist's watchful eye -- its provenance now as intriguing as its appearance. It's on display at the Caponi Art Park and Learning Center, a nonprofit park in Eagan that includes a 20-acre sculpture garden, walking paths and the artist's home.

In 1967, Caponi worked mostly with stone carving, but he felt the urge to experiment with welding techniques and different materials.

"What inspires me, it's usually the material -- always scrap," said the former Macalester College professor, gesturing broadly as he tells the story. "I like to revive things. I like to create life rather than destroy one thing for another. ... That's the only one I made out of car bumpers."

Caponi gave the then-unnamed sculpture to friend Clifton Gayne, chairman of the University of Minnesota Art Education Department.

The couple positioned it in the center of a flower bed in their St. Paul back yard. They lovingly called it "Bumper Girl."

"I thought it was great. It was in our yard for 20 years at least," explained Pat Richards, a retired high school chemistry teacher. "It certainly was a figment of conversation."

Thieves stole the 7-feet-tall sculpture sometime in the 1970s. Police were called and neighbors were questioned. No one saw a thing, Pat Richards said. Then they received an anonymous call demanding a $100 ransom for the sculpture's return.

"We put the money in an envelope and we put it by the railroad tracks at the end of the street," Pat Richards said. "They told us to get it there as soon as possible. We did that because we both really wanted it back."

Even after they paid, the sculpture was never returned. Pat Richards said it remained missing for more than a year until a police cruiser pulled in front of their home. The officer opened his trunk to reveal the damaged sculpture. Police concluded that it had been tossed from an overpass spanning Hwy. 280. The crime remains unsolved.

"It's intriguing," said Christina Young, the Richards' former neighbor. "It's scary because it's obviously a bug."

It remained there until the fall of 2010. Pat Richards, now widowed, had moved to an assisted-living home and, with the help of friends, she made the difficult decision to donate it back to Caponi for his Art Park.

Caponi made repairs to the sculpture before carefully placing it in the center of a path in the sculpture garden, surrounded by woods.

"Every work in the park belongs in its place," Caponi explained. "Art is integrated in nature."

He and his wife Cheryl named it "Praying Mantis" after schoolchildren made the connection to the insect.