Art Appreciation: Daniel Edwards--The Controversial Sculptor

Daniel Edwards is a talented sculptor with a lot to say about pop culture. Today I stumbled across his name and was stunned to see some of his artwork. Everything I have seen so far is outrageously controversial, but it seems to be getting his point across. Take a gander, this is all I could find so far.

"Monument to Pro-Life: The Birth of Sean Preston"

It symbolized Spears' decision to put childbirth ahead of her career. **************************************

"Suri's Bronzed Baby Poop"

On August 28, 2006, Edwards unveiled a sculpture entitled purported to be the actual first bowel movement, or meconium, 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, while others reported the story as being a hoax.

**************************************

"Paris Hilton Autopsy with Tinkerbell"

This life-size sculpture of Paris Hilton depicts the heiress as a dead prom queen, naked with her legs spread. She is wearing a tiara and clutching a mobile phone. Her pet Chihuahua, Tinkerbell, also wearing a tiara, is featured resting its front paws on her breast. The sculpture is aimed at stopping young women from drinking and driving, a crime of which Hilton had previously been found guilty and subsequently sentenced to jail after breaking probation.

The sculpture also has an open abdominal cavity with removable life-size organs and twin fetuses, which visitors to the exhibition may hold if they wear special gloves. The publicity around this work even attempted to incorporate a participatory element, with a contest for viewers to submit their own essays about drunk driving.

**************************************

"Iraq War Memorial Featuring the Death of Prince Harry, the Martyr of Maysan Province"

The sculpture features Harry in his army uniform, a holstered pistol at his side, his head resting on a bible and pennies covering his eyes. A vulture stands at his feet, and Harry is clutching the flag of Wales. Edwards was inspired by the prince's willingness to go to Iraq with his regiment, a request which was ultimately turned down. The memorial honors "those willing but unable to serve in the Iraq conflict," according to the press release. Edwards suggests that the sculpture shows how Prince Harry "must have died the day they told him he couldn't serve"

**************************************

"Presidential Bust of Hillary Rodham Clinton: First Woman President of the United States of America"

This one took me a minute to process.

**************************************

"Fidel Castro's Deathbed Portrait"

Large enough to belong to a 25 foot man, the sculpture comes from Harlem, New York’s acclamation for Castro’s contributions to civil rights. “Harlem is perhaps the only community in the U.S. that proclaims an admiration for Castro - the Central Park unveiling of his portrait is an attempt to bring Harlem’s adoration for Castro to the rest of the world,” said a spokesman for the unveiling. “With respect to Harlem, the portrait celebrates Castro’s humanitarianism and with respect to Miami, it celebrates the end of a long regime,” said Kesting. Reportedly, Miami’s Little Havana celebrated in the streets to wild rumors from anti-Castro exiles that Castro had died while Harlem celebrated Castro’s 80th birthday in August.