It is always a fascination learning what materials artists use for creating their inspiration.  Allen and Patty Eckman live in South Dakota and since 1987, they have been making life-sized paper sculptures of Native American Indians.  This artistry has, so far, netted them a cool $5 million USD.

The Eckmans aren’t using a papier mâché method — there’s no binder — they just inject paper pulp into clay mold and pressurize the slurry to remove all the water.

When they remove the hardened paper from the mold, they have a large blank that they then “sculpt” into paper artifices by adding more detailed paper bits until the sculpture comes alive.

Are paper Indians Art for the Ages?

Or are these paper pieces intentionally created to be less durable and everlasting than marble or hardwood or bronze — and isn’t even rag paper more susceptible to the ravages of time, fire, water and gravity?

Would you prefer a more traditional and longer-lasting material like leather or beading or even feathers instead of paper for these Native American warriors?  Or is their beauty only in the fleeting?

Is a paper Indian more or less aesthetically sustainable — if the idea of True Art is to speak to future generations about the truth you know and the wonders you’ve ceased?

2 Comments

    1. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
      David W. Boles says:

      Yes, they are beautiful and temporal — but are they only intended to be temporary?

Comments are closed.