Paul Daniel was born in St. Louis Missouri. He received a BFA at Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO, and an MFA from the Rinehart School of Sculpture, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD.

 

He has received a number of awards for sculpture, among them a Municipal Art Society Grant, MD State Arts Council Individual Artists Grant, the Henry Walters Traveling Fellowship, and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship Grant.

 

Paul’s commitment to wind-activated sculpture and its connection to the environment has been a passion of his during his entire career. His sculptures address nature (wind, light, movement, and, in some cases, buoyancy) and are appropriate for a variety of outdoor settings. Kinetic sculptural elements indicate the rotation of the earth, the velocity of the wind, and mark time. Wind and sun affect each piece drawing viewers into awareness of natural phenomena of movement, shadows, or calm.

 

In addition to three-dimensional work, he develops drawings/paintings to facilitate the design of the sculptures, as they progress during fabrication. It happens bit by bit. This process helps him to record concepts and how they change.

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Artist Statement 

"The first thing that comes to mind when I think about my work process is my hands. They are the tools that make everything that is in my mind’s eye. A sketchbook is where my ideas begin to take shape, making drawings and notes. The next step involves searching the studio for just the right materials for the sculpture. The materials are steel for strength, stainless steel for noncorrosive strength, and aluminum for its lightweight properties.

 

The supplies are chosen for their abilities to achieve my goal of creating a kinetic sculpture that moves by the wind and can survive the environment outside year-round. Scale is important for a lot of reasons — its presence in the environment, how it packs for safe shipping and truck loading, and what equipment is needed to install the sculpture. Colors always seem to be the final decision.

 

There is a lot of math in the design process. Calculating the weight to achieve balance and determining the surface area to understand wind loads are necessary. Designing a floating sculpture requires adding up the weight of each part for a total to determine what is the proper buoyancy to keep the sculpture afloat.

 

With all these different processes and details, I find it totally exciting to pursue making large outdoor kinetic sculptures."