Alex Eckman-Lawn

“I think it is too easy to confuse leadership with authority. The people I've experienced in my life that I would consider real "leaders" are not just driven or powerful but open minded and receptive to ideas they might not have come up with and capable enough to actually complete ambitious projects.”

Alex Eckman-Lawn is a Philadelphia-born illustrator with a BFA in illustration from the University of the Arts. His talents are featured in a variety of art forms including comic books, music videos, and book covers. He also creates multi-layered, hand-cut paper collages – the dissection process of cutting through layers of paper allows Allen to play both surgeon and architect as he creates caverns and uncovers new spaces. Allen uncovered his inner genius after discovering his love of art and, reluctantly admitting, after reading “How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way”.

What does leadership mean to you?

“I think it's too easy to confuse leadership with authority. The people I've experienced in my life that I would consider real "leaders" are not just driven or powerful but open minded and receptive to ideas they might not have come up with, and capable enough to actually complete ambitious projects. A leader that's actually interested in progress, that can put others before themself and compromise when necessary - thats who I want to work with. Yes, of course I want to feel that they're confident and capable, but community is so much more important and ultimately more effective than any one of its members.
We're living in a time when more than ever, people in positions of power are absolutely incapable, ineffective, incompetent, or worse. Leadership has to come from a different place and I'm encouraged to see that happening all around me.”

What did you consider genius as a child?

“As a child I think genius, as a concept, always felt so far from me and my experience that I rarely considered it. It was scientists and mathematicians, important people in lab coats staring into some enormous machine that I couldn't comprehend. It wasn't until I started really thinking about art and why I cared so much about it that I found the kind of genius that I could relate and aspire to, something that I wanted to reach for. Honestly, (embarrassingly) I think this revelation came to me at least in part by way of ‘How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way.’”

Biography:

Alex Eckman-Lawn is a Philadelphia-born illustrator who received his BFA in Illustration from the University of the Arts. His work has appeared in comic books, on album covers, book covers, music videos, T-shirts, and gig posters. In addition, he spends his time creating multi-layered, hand-cut paper collages, using everything from his original digital paintings to imagery from old medical texts.
"My work work explores the mystery and fear associated with the body's inner processes, the feeling of being trapped in a decaying cage. I dissect my paper sculptures, sometimes violently cutting away at them, burrowing into the body to create caverns and uncovering new spaces. The result can be harrowing, but at times comforting as well. In cutting through the layers of paper, I am given the opportunity to play both surgeon and architect, for once in complete control over what lies inside."