BROTHER PLACID, BENEDICTINE ARTIST - by Dan Paulos

The works of calligraphers and artists were in demand from the very early days of the Order. Artists in the monasteries were burdened with extra responsibilities, but never were they considered "special," or treated differently than the other members. Their creative ministry had to be accomplished on their own time. They had to perform their choir and daily chores in the same fashion as all Benedictines.

These religious artisans have, for fifteen centuries, ornamented churches with their exquisite manuscripts, icons, statuary, stained glass windows and liturgical furnishings. Brother Placid Stuckenschneider fits well into the realm of this famed monastic artistry. His designs are found in churches, monasteries, and private collections throughout the United States, and his wide world exposure might well be the envy of many a fine- artist.

Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and reared in Great Falls, Montana, he and his one brother attended public schools throughout their academic years. They grew up poor, as most Americans did in those days of the Great Depression; but their seasons of youth were filled with a combination of hard work, studied, lots of love --- and a wealth of fun. His brother later married, had five children, and died of lung cancer at the young age of 54. Placid's emotions fervently nudged him toward a religious calling.

Placid's recollections of his ability to draw takes him back to a freezing winter in Montana when, as a young child, he stayed outdoors to sketch the family cow. He remembers that his hands grew colder and colder, but he persevered till the sketch was completed.

As early as the second grade, Stuckenschneider took a pair of scissors and a black piece of paper and cut his first silhouette. It was a horse. A creation that thrilled the seven year old; especially when his teacher could tell immediately what the cutting was. Placid humbly states that his scissored paper-cuttings were no match for those of his contemporary, Sister Jean Dorcy. But he smiles, anyway, knowing that these were his first real attempts at communicating his artistic feelings.

Later memories involved drawing compulsively on the sides of ration cases as Japanese shells exploded next to his dugout shelter in the Philippines. The artwork done while in the serice is, to him, some of his most treasured possessions.

When he was in the Army, as a rifleman, he'd try to squeeze in his drawing as often as possible. A lieutenant looked over his shoulder one day and was pleased with what he saw. Not long after, Placid was transferred from the Philippines to Japan, where his talent could be used in the army's STARS AND STRIPES newspaper. He became a noted military cartoonist. But it was also here that he drew dramatic sketches of beggar children at night under the street lights of Tokyo.

After serving out his term in the army he figured that it would be a breeze to become a successful civilian cartoonist. He sent out samples of his cartoons, and immediately learned that what may have been entertaining to servicemen, definitely was not funny to outsiders.

Not certain in which direction his life was leading him, Placid returned to Great Falls and stayed in the mountains with his father. It was a year in limbo; but a year that he holds dear for the time spent with his ailing father who was dying of TB of the spine, and with his beloved, hard-working, Bohemian mother.

St. John's is the largest Abbey in the world, having over 300 monks attached to its foundation. In 1948 when Placid was searching out religious Orders, he often passed the twin towers of the Abbey, travelling by bus to and from Layton Art School in Milwaukee. What impressed him about the Benedictines was that when he wrote to different Orders asking for information, most responses were mimeographed letters, accompanied by the usual packets of printer materials. Abbot Alcuin of St. John's personally answered Placid's request for information, inviting him to consider a trial visit.

This invitation prompted his first and last attempt at hitchhiking. He thumbed his way from Layton Art School to the Abbey, and spent some time following the lives of the monks.

He returned to the art school to complete the semester and then decided to enter the monastery.

His first years at the Abbey were not easy. The trials of adjusting to every day community living were hard on him. And though art was his life far before entering religion, his career was stifled by the duties he was expected to perform in the monastery. He rendered these chores with ease and accepted them as God's Will, taking them quite seriously; whether it was driving St. Mary's Mission bus for Chippewa Indian children, working the vast fields, or even laboring in the butcher shop.

Five years after his entrance, while working in the barn at the Indian Mission, Father William approached him and asked, "Do you think you could complete four designs a month for THE LITURGICAL PRESS at St. John's?" Placid, completely absorbed in baling hay, wasn't certain if the question was in jest - or, if St. John's request was a reality. The matter was most definitely a serious one, for this inquiry began a career that has touched the hearts of English speaking Christians all around the world. His bulletin designs, today, are distributed each month to a half- million readers who see and admire the scriptural sermonettes being transformed into his contemporary expressions of faith.

During his five year mission at Redlake, he learned that his talent would have to be versatile; the monastery's budget did not include costly materials. He first worked on wood sculpture here, carved from an old, church pew, donated by a poor farmer.

When a kiln was available, Placid worked with ceramics. When paint was found, he'd paint; and if a blacksmith shop was offered, he'd weld, or work at soldering stained glass windows. Finding each new media was as creatively challenging to him as executing the works themselves. Illustrated magazine covers and book jackets, and his illustrations in GROWING UP IN CHRIST, (a child's bible), and A PARADE OF SAINTS, and two clip art books, have placed him with other top artists in the field of sacred art.

St. John's Abbey possesses one of the most impressive collections of sacred art in the United States. Brother Placid's work can be found throughout these massive structures, and one finds no need to question which art-forms belong to him - for his style is purely Benedictine and masculine. His works are quiet and deep; reflecting a person who holds a great reverence for life. His symbolisms speak in metaphors beyond words. "Madonna and Child"
Woodcut by Brother Placid
Copyright (c) Immaculate Heart Community All rights reserved
From the permanent collection of SBI

Brother Placid's life has been very hectic. Another one of his duties and occupations is that of church consultant. Since Vatican II, over 30 churches in Minnesota and the Dakotas have commissioned him to renovate their naves and sanctuaries. In many instances Brother has painted icons of Madonnas to enhance the contemporary changes of the structures. But unlike traditional icons-severe, Placid features Our Lady in very contemporary style, bringing her to the people of this and future generations.

He continues to study art at Notre Dame University, Blackhawk Mountain School (in Colorado), Sagrada Studio (in Albuquerque), and at San Miguel de Allende (in Mexico). During these summer courses, Brother tries desperately to complete commissions that monastery living far too seldom allows. It is at these places that he has accomplished some of his major paintings and sculptures.

The monastery's duties come first to this famous artist-monk; he is simply a monk who happens to be an artist. Over the past 25 years, while being on the full-time staff of THE LITURGICAL PRESS, he trained himself to drop all work when the chapel bells ring. He always places his art-life second.

It is said that the properties of God are truth, goodness and beauty. Abbot Boniface Wimmer, founder of the American Benedictines, wrote that he suspected that more souls are won to God by beauty than by truth and goodness. And it was St. Benedict's rule that expressed the hope that the casual visitor to any monastery would sense the presence of God within its walls and be moved to prayer. Brother Placid's prominent works of art maintains the high quality and technique of this Benedictine tradition.

Brother's trademark, which he uses instead of his signature, is a letter "P" made with a fish. The "P" stands for Placid, while the fish represents the ancient symbol of a Christian. He sees Christ in all things, and attempts to fuse the spiritual and the natural. He feels that the artist has a role in bridging the gap between the visual and the spirit, and it is evident that this is his life's challenge. His life's goal.

St. John's Abbey