Norman Eckelberger: Abstract 1 P2335

Norman Eckelberger: Abstract 1, oil on canvas, framed size 18 x 22, art is 16 x 20.

California native Norman Eckelberger (1934-2017), an original "Gerber Baby" and former cosmetologist/educator, pursued a new career in art after retiring to the California desert. Even his falling through several sheets of glass and cutting the tendon in his right hand failed to stop his ambitious art projects: he began crafting tin cutouts into beautiful paintings. Critics hailed Norman's tin art medium as a new style, placing it in the category of Mixed Media. It was unique, and Norman loved its many possibilities, incorporating his fascination with Kokopelli, a mythological fertility deity in some Native American cultures in the Southwest, a figure usually portrayed as a humpbacked flute player luring women. Many of Norman's paintings depict Kokopelli in one of his various forms.