All Sculpture by Allen Christian
photographs by Larry Labonte
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"This son of Vernon and Dorothy Christian is a commercial electrician by day, and after the kids are in bed, by night he is the consummate creator. That is, Christian is always creating. Chances are when you finally meet him, he will be carving, chopping, bending or welding. He may not even stop as your conversation begins. He's not being rude, he is into the heavy process of releasing the objects and materials he is working with from the shackles that industry and manufacturers have cast them. He is releasing the captives to live out the remainder of their days displaying the soul that developed from within through years of observation and interaction with the humans that worked and played with them for so long. Christian doesn't claim to be a religious man but he does believe in animism: the notion that non-living objects possess something like the human soul. That soul is effected by the relationship that the owner had with it. If you track with Christian's animism theory you will understand why bowling balls are Allen Christian's material of choice. Not to mention there is a seemingly endless supply of them. Consider Ralph Cramden, Ed Norton, Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble, all great bowlers in their own right, and then imagine the character that might roll out of one of Art Carney's balls. So much culture and personality screaming to be set free."
...from POK Magazine #9