Carol Eckert
Swan Still Life, 2019
cotton, linen, wire, with found pedestal 53" x 28" x 20"
My current body of work delves into humankind’s relationship to the natural world, and references historical works which assume humans’ dominion over nature: studies of biological specimens collected indiscriminately; still-life paintings dense with the bodies of creatures hunted for sport. The contrast between the inherent beauty of these works and the disregard for the living world they depict is at once intriguing and horrifying
Carol Eckert
Still Life With Yellow Bird, 2019
cotton, linen, wire 47" x 73" x 5"
My current body of work delves into humankind’s relationship to the natural world, and references historical works which assume humans’ dominion over nature: studies of biological specimens collected indiscriminately; still-life paintings dense with the bodies of creatures hunted for sport. The contrast between the inherent beauty of these works and the disregard for the living world they depict is at once intriguing and horrifying
Carol Eckert
A Cabinet of Curiosities, 2021
cotton, linen, wire 48" x 40" x 5"
My current body of work delves into humankind’s relationship to the natural world, and references historical works which assume humans’ dominion over nature: studies of biological specimens collected indiscriminately; still-life paintings dense with the bodies of creatures hunted for sport. The contrast between the inherent beauty of these works and the disregard for the living world they depict is at once intriguing and horrifying
Carol Eckert
Rappaccini’s Garden, 2023
cotton, linen, wire 30" x 44" x 3"
Rappaccini's Garden is a reference to Nathaniel Hawthorne's story of Doctor Rappaccini, whose daughter, confined to his garden, gradually became as poisonous as the plants she tended
Carol Eckert
Ghost Flock, 2022
cotton, linen, wire 8' x 12'
The Black-tailed Godwits of Ghost Flock are winging into an uncertain future. These critically endangered wetland birds are struggling to survive due to loss of habitat, poor land management, and the impact of climate change. Emergency interventions by conservation experts are helping the birds’ chances of survival, but it is vital that heathy wetland habitat be increased to help Black-tailed Godwits and other wading birds survive.
Carol Eckert
Heron Bibliography, 2023
cotton, linen, wire, with found drawer 52" x 23" x 21"
The focus of my work is the complex, often fraught, interaction of humans with their environment. Heron Bibliography references that relationship as reflected in natural history museum collections. It is constructed with an invented adaptation of an ancient basketry technique, coiling, using cotton threads over a wire core.
Carol Eckert
The Organization of Artifacts, 2023
cotton, linen, wire, with found drawers and stand 6' x 6' x 2'
I’ve always been drawn to natural history museums, particularly to old spaces packed with specimen drawers and taxidermy cases. My work deals with the complex, often fraught, interaction of humans with the natural environment — a connection expressed in these collections as researchers attempted to make sense of their world. Entomology collections especially intrigue me. I’m simultaneously captivated by the colorful patterns and graceful forms, and wary of insects in general — all the while recognizing they are a vital part of our living world.
Carol Eckert
Memento Mori: The 100 Dead Birds Project, 2019
cotton, linen, wire variable
In early 2019, I began “Memento Mori: The 100 Dead Birds Project,” chronicling humans’ impact on birds. In the early stages of creating the piece, I posted on Instagram requesting images of dead birds, with a plan to create a floor sculpture of one hundred individual birds, each coiled from cotton and linen. The first image to appear on my phone was a Common Koel that collided with a window in Far North Queensland. Over the following months I added an Arizona owl electrocuted by a high-tension wire, a flicker found on a New York City street, and a hummingbird spotted on the roof of San Francisco’s de Young Museum, among many others. Though my original goal was 100 birds, the sculpture will continue to grow indefinitely as images arrive from around the world.
Carol Eckert
The Fall of Icarus, 2020
cotton, linen, wire, with encaustic 6" x 79" x 38"
The Fall of Icarus is a floor piece inspired by the ancient Greek story of Icarus , who flew from the island of Crete with his father, Daedalus, a craftsman who had assembled their wings from feathers and wax..The myth is often told as a warning against the hubris of Icarus, who flew too close to the sun and fell to earth when the wax melted, but perhaps it is also a story of the arrogance of Daedalus and his excessive faith in his own craftsmanship.
Carol Eckert
Birds of Prophecy, 2023
cotton, linen, wire 38" x 180" x 9"
The focus of my work is the complex, often fraught, interaction of humans with their environment. Birds of Prophecy references that relationship by focusing on twenty-three endangered birds, each threatened by loss of habitat, changing temperatures, and other human activities. Without intervention, many of them may be lost to future generations.
