Daniel Edwards
{{short description|American contemporary artist|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{about|the American sculptor||Daniel Edwards (disambiguation)}}
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{{lead extra info |date=June 2023}}
File:Jerry Weiss, Daniel Edwards.jpg
Daniel Edwards (born 1965 in La Porte, Indiana) is an American contemporary artist whose pieces address celebrity and popular culture in ways that have often stirred controversy. The release of the pieces is generally accompanied by press releases. He includes the idea of promotion and associative fame in his own marketing of his art.
His works include a sculpture of the disembodied head of Ted Williams, a life-sized statue of Britney Spears giving birth while nude on her hands and knees on a bearskin rug,{{cite web |url=http://www.caplakesting.com/2006_catalog/de/index.htm |title=Monument to Pro-Life: The Birth of Sean Preston |date=2006-03-22 |work=CaplaKesting.com |publisher=Capla Kesting Fine Art |accessdate=2009-03-21 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090321143444/http://www.caplakesting.com/2006_catalog/de/index.htm |archivedate=2009-03-21 }} a bust of Senator Hillary Clinton,{{cite news| url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2006-08-11-clinton-bust_x.htm| title=Sex museum displays Hillary Rodham Clinton bust| date=2006-08-11| work=USA Today| publisher=Associated Press| accessdate=2009-03-21}} and a {{convert|25|ft|adj=on}} bust of Fidel Castro.
Works
=Britney Spears=
File:Spearssculpture.jpg giving birth]]
Edwards titled the piece Monument to Pro-Life: The Birth of Sean Preston, explaining that it symbolized Spears' decision to put childbirth ahead of her career. Britney Spears actually had a caesarean section.
In an Associated Press interview, Edwards asserted that he incorporates celebrity stories because:{{cite news| url=http://www.today.com/id/12055117| title=Is pregnant Britney a pro-life symbol?| date=2006-03-29| work=Today.com| publisher=Associated Press| accessdate=2009-03-21}}
You're bombarded with these stories. And there's a thread that winds back to the art. That's not a bad thing. People are interested in sex, and it works for art as well.Edwards conceded, however, that he wouldn't march with either anti-abortion or abortion rights advocates.
A number of the images shown in the media are casts of the sculpture rather than the original. Casts can be distinguished by the joins around the forearms and shins and by their paler color.
=Hillary Clinton=
In 2006, Edwards created a life-size bust of Senator Hillary Clinton. It is titled Presidential Bust of Hillary Rodham Clinton. The sculpture depicts her wearing a low-cut floral dress.
=Suri Cruise=
On 28 August 2006, Edwards unveiled a sculpture titled Suri's bronzed baby poop, purported to be the actual first bowel movement of the baby of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. The sculpture was to be auctioned on eBay, and Edwards was commissioned to produce a limited-edition plaster replica. Sources disagreed on whether the bronze sculpture actually contained Suri's excrement: some reported that it did,{{cite news| url=http://www.send2press.com/newswire/2006-08-0828-005.shtml| title=Alleged Suri Cruise's Baby Poop Bronzed for Charity| last=Simmons| first=Christopher| work=Send2Press Newswire| date=2006-08-28| accessdate=2009-03-21}} while others reported the story as being a hoax.{{cite news |url=http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2006/08/31/artist_mocks_celebrity_obsession_with_su |title=Artist Mocks Celebrity Obsession With Suri Cruise Stool Sculpture |date=2006-08-31 |work=Starpulse Entertainment |publisher=World Entertainment News Network |accessdate=2009-03-21 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325001533/http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2006/08/31/artist_mocks_celebrity_obsession_with_su |archivedate=2009-03-25 }}
=''Dead Prince Harry''=
A sculpture of Prince Harry depicting him dead, in military uniform, his head resting upon a Bible with a locket of his mother's clasped in his hands and with a vulture standing by his feet. Edwards suggests that the sculpture shows how Prince Harry "must have died the day they told him he couldn't serve" (in Iraq).{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1565052/RIP-Prince-Harry-an-artistic-memorial.html| title=RIP Prince Harry: an artistic 'memorial'| last=Lowe| first=Felix| date=2007-10-05| work=Telegraph.co.uk| publisher=Telegraph Media Group| accessdate=2009-03-21}}{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7030133.stm| title='Dead Prince Harry' to be shown| date=2007-10-05| work=BBC News| accessdate=2009-03-21}}
=''Oprah Sarcophagus''=
Edwards created a half-scale model depicting Oprah's Sarcophagus at Gardenfresh Gallery in Chicago at In April 2008. The golden bronze casket lid bears an unclothed full-figure rendering of the media mogul with vertical stripes. Alongside it is the artist's Oprah Burial Mask.{{Cite journal | title= Controversial Sculptor Exhibits Oprah Sarcophagus | publisher=ARTINFO | date= April 25, 2008 | url=http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/27463/controversial-sculptor-exhibits-oprah-sarcophagus/ | accessdate=2008-05-14 }}
=Other works=
In 2009, Edwards released String Of Babies depicting mother of eight Nadya Suleman aka Octomom as an octopus embracing the world's only surviving set of octuplets.{{cite news|url=http://www.dlisted.com/node/31237|title=OctoMommy As Art|last=K|first=Michael|date=2009-03-20|work=D Listed|accessdate=2009-03-21|archive-date=2013-06-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130609173556/http://www.dlisted.com/node/31237|url-status=dead}}
On August 9, 2009, Edwards unveiled his latest piece, a nude statue of Angelina Jolie breastfeeding twins, one African and one not.{{cite magazine| url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2053230_2053229_2053217,00.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110226135744/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2053230_2053229_2053217,00.html| url-status=live| archive-date=February 26, 2011| title=Top 10 Breast-Feeding Controversies (The Angelina Jolie Breast-Feeding Statue)| last=Schrobsdorff| first=Susanna| date=2011-02-23| magazine=Time| access-date=2011-02-23}}
On August 9, 2011, pictures surfaced of a new statue Edwards had created depicting actress/singer Selena Gomez with her boyfriend singer, Justin Bieber conjoined by the torso, nude, with only coverings on their private parts. Justin was given the Canadian maple leaf as a covering and Selena, the Texas star.{{Cite web|title=Celebuzz {{!}} Celebuzz|url=https://www.celebuzz.com/|access-date=2020-10-27|website=www.celebuzz.com|language=en-US}}
Edwards also created a "memorial" bust of Amy Winehouse.{{Cite web|last=Mirror.co.uk|date=2011-09-07|title=Artist Daniel Edwards sculpts memorial to Amy Winehouse|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/artist-daniel-edwards-sculpts-memorial-186349|access-date=2020-10-27|website=mirror|language=en}}
Documentary
In 2006, feature filmmaker A.D. Calvo produced a series of short documentaries on Edwards and his work. His compilation was entitled La Danse Macabre: Portrait of a Serial Sculptor.{{Cite web|title=Film Threat {{!}} Your Independent Movie Guide|url=https://filmthreat.com/|access-date=2020-10-27|language=en-US}}
Sources
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= Online =
- [http://perezhilton.com/2009-12-07-brangelina-sculpture-to-inspire-future-homeowners 'Brangelina Sculpture To "Inspire" Future Homeowners'(2009-12-07)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301132814/http://perezhilton.com/2009-12-07-brangelina-sculpture-to-inspire-future-homeowners/ |date=2014-03-01 }} in PerezHilton.com
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.culturekiosque.com/art/news/paris-hilton-autopsy.html European journal Culturekiosque comments on significance of Edwards' Paris Hilton Autopsy and other sculptures, and his play with celebrity, media, classical mythology and even search engine optimization.]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Daniel}}
Category:20th-century American sculptors
Category:21st-century American sculptors
Category:21st-century American male artists
Category:American male sculptors
Category:People from La Porte, Indiana