Patty & Allen Eckman
Image courtesy of: http://ac-class.blogspot.com/
The intense realism of Allen and Patty Eckman's museum-quality paper sculptures is astonishing in its scope. Appearing to be more like individuals frozen in time, caught in mid-action as though seized by Medusa's petrifying Gorgonian stare and turned to stone, it would be nearly impossible to distinguish the Eckmans' sculptures - so painstakingly and finely detailed as to nearly defy belief - from beautifully wrought bronze sculptures, were it not for two basic facts: their sculptures are made of cast paper and are, therefore, light-weight; and their colour, chalk-white.
Image courtesy of: http://ac-class.blogspot.com/
Husband-and-wife design teams are not all that unusual: Charles and Ray Eames as well as Isabel and Ruben Toledo are two couples that come immediately to mind. Naturally, when Allen Eckman met Patty Tenneboe at Art Center College of Design, Los Angeles, where they both studied and graduated in 1974 - he, a former member of the Marine Corps and a Vietnam War veteran who had decided to study advertising art; she, an illustrator - it only made perfect sense that, shortly after graduation, the couple should marry and open a small advertising company together in Los Angeles. But twelve years in the advertising business had convinced the Eckmans, who had three children by now, to forgo the stresses and strains of advertising and, going out on the proverbial limb in 1988, chose a completely different path to pursue: that of paper cast sculptures - a medium Allen had discovered while photographing a brochure.
(Source: eckmanfineart.com, undated)
Pronghorn Warrior in the Wind
Shawl Dancer
The above two images are courtesy of: http://ac-class.blogspot.com/
Though often mistakenly confused with papier-mâché, the process of cast paper sculpting is completely distinct and certainly not new when the Eckmans discovered it - it had been around since the 1950s. Cast paper sculptuing involves the mixture of acid-free paper pulp obtained from two raw sources: cotton and abaca (native of the Philippines and closely related to the banana plant, abaca is also known as manila hemp; it is the leaf fibres which are composed of long slim cells and which form part of the leaf's supporting structure. It is extracted from the leaf sheath around the trunk of the abaca plant). (Source: naturalfibres2009.org, 2009)
Once the mixture is prepared it is then cast into molds made from original clay models - much the same as traditional bronze casting. Then the paper is pressed under vacuum pressure or by hand until most of the water is extracted, whereby the figure is induced to conform to the shape of the mold; the remaining moisture is taken care of by evaporation - the paper figure is left to air-dry completely while still in place in the mold before the next stage in the process: chasing and detailing. Removed from its mold, a paper cast figure is hard and dry; it is now that the real work begins. A laborious and time-consuming process, chasing, cast editions and alterations, sculpting and detailing are all a necessary part of the process by which a sculpture is 'brought to life'. Depending on the figure and the amount of detailing needed, it is not unusual for some works to take upwards of months to complete. (Source: eckmanfineart.com, undated)
Spirit of the Buffalo II
Strong Lance on the Wind
The above two images are courtesy of: http://oleger77.livejournal.com/
It is noticeable to anyone familiar with the Eckmans' creations that a strong Native American Indian theme runs through their work. The Indian theme is rooted in a childhood memory of Allen's. As he recalls, "When I was a small boy in Pennsylvania, I found an arrowhead in a newly plowed field and took it home to my grandfather who told me we have a Cherokee ancestry... I really am interested in the Indians' material, physical and spiritual culture and that whole period of our nation's history I find fascinating. From the western expansion, through the Civil War and beyond is of great interest to me." But while Allen's interest is fixated on America's wild west and Native Indian past, Patty's is centred more on wildlife, birds and flowers: "Ever since I was a child I have had a great appreciation of wildlife. I can sit for hours and watch birds come to my feeder. When I look at a flower I don't see just color, I see form. Wonderful shapes that the color tries to overpower." But aside from her wildlife works, Patty has also worked, since 2000, on Native Indian themed sculptures, mainly those comprising of Indian women and children. When the need arises, the Eckmans do work cooperatively on large-scale, complicated models that require tremendous amount of detail; all their sculptures are either individually or jointly signed.
To their credit, the Eckmans are the innovators of the exclusive Eckman Method ® of paper casting - a trade mark which is solely theirs - a testament to their dedication and long years of experience, perfecting the process.
(Source & quotes: eckmanfineart.com, undated)
Blessing The Hunt
Offering The Medicine Horn
Offering The Medicine Pipe
Offering The Medicine Skull
Chief's Rock
War Chief's Strong Prayer
Calling The Buffalo
Chief Calling The Buffalo
The Sentinel
Lacrosse Brothers
Lancers on Rocky Ground II
Driving the Longhorns
Prairie Edge Encampment
Prairie Edge Pow-Wow
Replenishment
Sitting-Bull's Visions
Where Eagles Pray
White Buffalo Lance
The Buffalo Hunter
The Way
Tracking Geronimo
North West Trackers
The Calf Roper
To Save One
Hoop Dancer ~ "Dancing Eagle"
Buffalo Spirit Dancer
Fancy Dancer
Fancy Dancer II
Fancy Dancer III
Hopi Buffalo Dancer
Traditional Dancer
Traditional Dancer Pow-Wow
Wolf Spirit Dancer
Pow-Wow Practice
Pow-Wow Practice II
Pow-Wow Butterflies
Little Eagle Dancing
Little Bear Dancing II
Little Bear Dancing III
Little Bear Dancing IV
Little Bear Playing
Little Butterfly Bear
The Baby Sitter
His Last Hunt
One More
One More Bull
Survival
The Hunter, The Hunted, and the Horse
Spirit Hunter
Geronimo On Background
Geronimo
Buffalo Solder ~ Grover Hank
Dr. Harry Depew
Col. Al Gordon, soldier of war
The Great Emancipator
Ku'uipo
Hula Girl
A Fight for Food
A Kiss for His Majesty
Majestic Combat
In The Rut
Getting Away
Rushmore Goats
The Longhorn
Bull Moose Head
Big Horn Ram Head
Bull Elk Head
Buffalo Head
Bear Head
Wolf Head
A Desert Tail
Egg Watcher
Hummin' In The Flowers
Hummin' In The Roses
Porch Nesters
In The Garden
Wife and Son of White Bull
The above five images are courtesy of: http://myfunniestposts.blogspot.com/
The Eckmans work and reside in the Black Hills of South Dakota, Rapid City, where they draw much inspiration from the rugged landscape, its climate, the wildlife, and the historical importance of their surroundings.
The War Bonnet
Image courtesy of: http://www.eckmanfineart.com/
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