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The works of Daniel Edwards address celebrity and popular culture in ways that often stir controversy. The release of his art is generally accompanied by a press release. Edwards includes the idea of promotion and associative fame in the marketing of his art.
“Life-session portraiture remains the most pure form of sculptural expression for me, but I am really enjoying other methods for exploring portraiture,” says Edwards, a child of the civil rights era, who came of age as an artist in the time of political correctness. “While I was creating public sculpture commissions, I felt that it was my calling to act as an artist who truly represents political correctness,” says Edwards. As an avid visitor to the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian, Edwards noticed the collection wanting of racial diversity. With the National Portrait Gallery’s requirement of working from life in mind for potential acquisition of the work, Edwards sculpted over the course of ten years approximately 50 portraits of living pioneers from baseball, the Olympics and the Blues.
Yearning to speak about socio-political topics through his work, Edwards decided to turn his process on its head and began doing more provocative work. “The work has been considered controversial, but with social conscience, and the depictions are never done from life. The subjects are accessed from the Internet and media. I often think of my current work as politically incorrect monuments and public sculpture with the Internet as the public space,” says Edwards.
Daniel Edwards works in both practical technique and digital. “Practical is old technology – modeling in clay and wax, for example. Digital is using computer programs. Both methods can be just as exhausting, just as demanding. Each process has its own advantages and disadvantages, so knowing how to work in both worlds provides a pretty broad range of possibilities for the contemporary sculptor,” says Edwards.
Education
2001 MFA, Drawing and Sculpture, New York Academy of Art, New York, NY.
1994 BFA Sculpture, Herron School of Art, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN.
1988–90 MFA Program, New York Academy of Art, Warhol Scholarship from Estate of Andy Warhol.
Public Sculpture and Commissions
2004 Olympians of the New York Athletic Club, bronze, New York Athletic Club, New York, NY.
2002 Wm. DeHart Hubbard, Olympian, 6’x 8’ bronze, Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority, Cincinnati, OH.
2000 Young Thoroughbred with Child, bronze life-size, Buckingham Companies, Indianapolis, IN.
1998 Affirmed: The Last Triple Crown Champion, bronze, 125% life-size,
Champions Farms, Louisville, KY.
1998 Bronze Water Fountains (two), University of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN.
1998 Dean Charles Emerson, bronze life-size bust, I.U. School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN.
1998 Senator Wendell Ford, bronze, twice life-size, Louisville Airport Authority, Louisville, KY.
1996 Governor Matthew E. Welsh of Indiana, bronze life-size, Indiana Statehouse, Indianapolis, IN.
1995 Landmark for Peace: The MLK Jr. and RFK Memorial (Groundbreaking ceremony performed by
President Clinton, Martin Luther King III and Senator Ted Kennedy),
sponsored by the Indiana Pacers, Indianapolis, IN.
1995 Jimmy Doolittle Award, Hudson Institute (Recipient: Barry Goldwater;
Guest speakers: Dan Quayle, William F. Buckley, and Sen. Sam Nunn), National Press Club,
Washington, DC.
1995 Workers’ Memorial, Indiana Government Center, sponsored by AFL-CIO, Indianapolis, IN.
1994 Mother Seton with Child, bronze life-size, St. Vincent Hospital, Indianapolis, IN.
1994 Josef Gingold Memorial Gold Medal for the International Violin Competition, Indianapolis, IN.
Selected Books which Reference Works
Jennifer Tyburczy (Jan 11, 2016). Sex Museums: The Politics and Performance of Display. University Of Chicago Press. ISBN-13: 978-0226315249.
Renée Cramer (Oct 21, 2015). Pregnant with the Stars: Watching and Wanting the Celebrity Baby Bump. Stanford University Press. ISBN-13:9780804796743.
Ana Rita Ferreira, Ana Nolasco (2014). Creative Processes in Art: Proceedings of the International Colloquium. FBAUL. 9789898771063.
Christopher Schaberg, Robert Bennett (2014). Deconstructing Brad Pitt. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN-13:9781623561932.
McCallum, Jack and Wertheim, Jon (2012). Sports Illustrated Book of the Apocalypse: Two Decades of Sports Absurdity. Diversion Books. ISBN 1938120159, 9781938120152.
Abe, Donyale (2012). Called to the Childbirth Profession: Opportunities for Doulas, Birth Educators, and You. Dreams2Life Publishing. ISBN-10: 0615578128. ISBN-13: 978-0615578125.
Lintott, Sheila and Sander-Staudt, Maureen, Editors (2011). Philosophical Inquiries into Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Mothering: Maternal Subjects.
Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy. [Hardcover] ISBN-10: 0415891876. ISBN-13: 978-0415891875. Edition: 1
Urban, Otto M. Curator (2011). Decadence Now: Visions of Excess. Artefakt/Arbor Vitae.
ISBN 978-8087164600.
Smit, Christopher R. (2011). The Exile of Britney Spears: A Tale of 21st Century Consumption. Intellect, Limited. ISBN 9781841504100.
Garson, Helen S. (2011). Oprah Winfrey: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies). ABC-CLIO, Incorporated. ISBN 9780313358326.
Reese, Jenny (2011). Off the Record Guide to the Life and Political Career of Hillary Rodham Clinton. Webster’s Digital Services. ISBN-10: 1241129444 ISBN-13: 978-1241129446.
Kelley, Kitty (2010). Oprah: A Biography. Crown. ISBN 073937785X
Sturken, Marita and Cartwright, Lisa (2009). Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture 2nd edition. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 978-0195314403.
Mancoff, Debra (2009). Icons of Beauty: Art, Culture, and the Image of Women. Greenwood.
ISBN 978-0313338236.
Schechter, Harold (2009). The Whole Death Catalog: A Lively Guide to the Bitter End. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN 9780345499646.
Reiter, Mark (2009). The Final Four of Everything. Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group.
ISBN 9781439126080.
Benjamin, Louis (2009). The Naked and the Lens: A Guide to Nude Photography. Focal Press.
ISBN 9780240811598.
Wilks, Timothy (2008). Prince Henry Revived: Image and Exemplarity in Early Modern England. Paul Holberton Publishing. ISBN 9781903470572.
Jobson, Robert (2008). Harry’s War: The True Story of the Soldier Prince. John Blake Publishing Ltd.
ISBN 9781844546725.
Kokoli, Alexandra M. (2008). Feminism Reframed: Reflections on Art and Difference. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 978-1847184054.
Newkey-Burden, Chas (2007). Paris Hilton: Life on the Edge. Gardners Books. ISBN 9781844544578.
Selected Dubiuos Distinctions
In Touch Magazine (2015), “Bizarre Exhibit of the Week” for Shroud of Scientology.
Star Magazine’s Star Weekly Awards (2013), “Most Disturbing Art” for the fetal portraits of Kim Kardashian’s and Kate Middleton’s unborn babies.
Maxim Magazine’s Sexiest Things in America (2012), for “Sexiest Sculpture of Teen Idols: Justin and Selena as One”.
Most Annoying People 2009. Produced by Shine for BBC TV4. BBC London’s list of the “100 most annoying people of 2009”. Listed at number 63, between Bernard Madoff and Charlie Sheen.
The Art Newspaper’s “Bartlebooth Award” (2005), London. Tongue-in-cheek award given to ten artists from around the world, who made art that pushed the boundries.
Sports Illustrated’s “This Week’s Sign of the Apocolypse” (2005). Dubious distinction given by Sports Illustrated for The Ted Williams Memorial Display.