Mikelis Geistauts

Mikelis Geistauts was born December 15, 1910 in the Latvian county of Rucava in a small community named Geistauti near the city of Liepaja and close to the Baltic Sea. In 1941 he began his sculpture studies at the Latvian Academy of Fine Arts. Geistauts was awarded a scholarship to continue his art education, but the Second World War interrupted his plans. He left Latvia as the front approached, and after the war found himself in a Displaced Persons' Camp, Fischbach, near Nuerenberg, Germany. He established an art workshop there in an unused military barracks, and along with his own work, 40 students studied the art of sculpture with him. The camp was closed and Geistauts immigrated to the U.S. in 1949. He settled in St. Paul, MN, and has continued creating his sculptures.
He has used various materials for sculpture - wood, stone, bronze, copper and other materials. 

Source: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/bronze-sculptures-minnesota-artist-1460643634

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Sculpture can be classified as the silent form of art. But one must remember what the ancient Romans said - cum tacent clamant - they shout in silence. This applies especially to the art of Mikelis Geistauts: it tells us more than the eye perceives. Geistauts belongs to the youngest and the last generation to study at the Fine Arts Academy of Latvia. He spent the next three decades seeking his own expression in art. After World War II while living in West Germany, he devoted all his talents and knowledge to his Latvian countrymen. Since departure from his homeland he has emerged as one of the most productive and successful Latvian sculptors. His works vary from religious subjects to ethnographic and historical to everyday themes. Since early civilization philosophers and artists have sought the fittest and most exact answer to the question: What is art? The viewers, the patrons of art have the conception and image of beauty in themselves, but the artist is the creator of these images, giving the forms, shapes and expressions to the images for other eyes to see. Thus we feel moved and touched by expressions of sorrow, joy, or any other emotion or idea which we recognize in the wood carvings or marble sculptures by the artist. To Geistauts, any work of art should rouse the perception and feeling of beauty in the viewer. The artist's creation may be of various natures, but to elicit response within the viewer is the main purpose of a work of art. If we follow the act of his creations we note the wide thematical range.

Source: https://www.amazon.com/Mik%CC%A6elis-Geistauts-Knuts-Lesin%CC%A6s%CC%8C/dp/B0006ECOZ4

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MIKELIS GEISTAUTS, Cand.rer.nat., Instructor in Art.

Cand.rer.nat., University of Latvia, Riga, 1940; Academy of Art, Latvia, Riga. Teaching: Private Studio 1938-49. At Augsburg since 1952. 

Source: Augsburg College and Theological Seminary, Minneapolis 4, Minnesota, The Augsburg bulletin, Vol. 15, No. 3, April 1953, http://web.augsburg.edu/registrar/catalog/catalog_archives/Undergraduate%20Catalogs%201946-2006/1953-1954.pdf

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Faculty Augsburg begins this term with a faculty of 58 in the college and seminary. In addition to the new members which were listed in the July issue of the Bulletin, Dr. Eva Bavolak and Mr. John Helmberger have been engaged to teach in the department of business administration, and Mr. Mikelis Geistauts will teach a course in sculpture.

Source: https://archives.augsburg.edu/islandora/object/AUGrepository%3A31941/datastream/OCR/view

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[..] The earlier development and all precision mechanical work was done by Mr. Mikelis Geistauts, Senior Engineer, while the scientific guidance and analysis were performed by Mr. Shukry Ibrahim, Research Associate, in cooperation with Dr. H. G. Heinrich, Professor of Aeronautical Engineering. [..]

Professor J. D. Akerman [..] 

Source: http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/232039.pdf

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Promotions and transfers

Mikelis Geistauts from Senior Laboratory Machinist Aeronautical Engineering Research Funds Rosemount at $4,992 Term AT to Senior Engineer at the rate of $6,312 Term AT February 16 to June 30, 1957.

Source: https://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/43339/1956-57-32.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y 

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Surgical drill

Inventor:​ Geistauts Mikelis

Source: 

1. https://patents.google.com/patent/US3128768A/en
2. http://www.freepatentsonline.com/3128768.pdf

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Microptilium geistautsi

An amber nodule containing a minute new fossil feather-wing beetle was recently collected on the shore of the Baltic Sea in Latvia by Mikelis Geistauts. The new species belongs to the genus Microptilium Matth., which is represented today by two nominal species occurring in Europe.

A specimen of undetermined sex, from Baltic amber collected on the shore of the Baltic Sea in Latvia by Mikelis Geistauts and received from him in May, 1960. In the collection of Chicago Natural History Museum.

The new species is named for Mikelis Geistauts, who collected the specimen and prepared it for study.

Source: https://archive.org/stream/newfossilfeather441dyba/newfossilfeather441dyba_djvu.txt