Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Daniel Farnam. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Daniel, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I think we often forget that everyday we have the opportunity to make a statement on the world around us. It’s so easy to get caught up in trying to survive that we can forget how important it is to take care of ourselves. I had an amazing experience with a recent collection that opened at the Baldwin Avenue Gallery in Sierra Madre. What brought joy to me is that I was able to team up with my son who together brought an NFT project to life. The learning curve was extremely steep, however, this process gave me new meaning to the art I create. I love making things with my hands and allowing the art to teach me. It’s relaxing and it’s where I do most of my thinking. For the Cubeishim NFT collection, my son Oliver took the lead on transforming these physical objects into NFTs and creating not just the website but the roadmap for the project. This show opened with both the physical and the digital artworks on display. This was a massive undertaking for a first-time project. From wallets to white papers we learned super valuable business components to art that will always be with us moving forward. I will always be tying physical sculptures with a digital version; always exploring where the value of artwork lies.
Growth is exciting and scary. Taking chances and reaching for new techniques that can better relate to the meaning is what keeps me going. The current collection I am finishing this year which I have been struggling with deals with individualism, advocating for the precedence of individual interests over those of social groups. Trust and self-reliance over shame or acceptance. How this takes form and how each sculpture plays a part in the larger message is so intricate. I can’t wait to present this finished collection!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Daniel Farnam and I have always had a deep-rooted passion for sculpture, intricately weaving the tangible and digital worlds. My background as a Cinematographer plays a part in creating visual storytelling through my sculpture works. I have begun to see this happen in reverse where now my sculpture thematics are influencing how I shoot.
I enjoy working at scale and I can see my works becoming larger than life as time goes on. I just love to experience works that are bigger than we are and cause us to travel around, move our feet, and move our necks to see what is revealed around the next curve or bend. For me the mental exploration sculpture takes me on is like a hidden trail that isn’t marked very well, complete with overgrown features and dead ends. This innocent exploration is a great place to experience and I believe is where my happiness lies. My goal of presenting these moments for others to embark on is another level of gratification.
As ideas for collections begin to swirl, I lean in on themes that I feel are important to me and the community I am a part of. I keep promising myself to spend more time listening and hearing with my eyes as I call it. Seeing what needs to be done and what needs to be said gives purpose to art I create. This is where I am truly inspired to create from.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Connecting with the community, and building an audience for your brand as an artist is not something artists set out to do. Often this for me is contradictory. It is probably the number one thing that needs to be maintained on a daily and weekly basis. Not allowing yourself to get sucked in too far, but, to balance a presence and availability online to others is extremely important if not the most important thing besides making your art and having something to say. This is the business side of things. This is by far my number one tool as an artist. I no longer have an artist website. I just use the Instagram. It is far more accessible, familiar, and easier for connections to happen. I set out to make it a fun experience and to routinely post my works that are in line with my vibe. Being thoughtful of what you’re saying, and making sure everything points back to my main mission as an artist. I try to make it easy for collectors and galleries to see and understand my style as fast as possible.
Finding your community takes time. It took me a second to really figure out where I wanted to go with my art and the things I wanted to say, and I’m still learning this. This takes quite a bit of creation in terms of who you follow and who follows you. It gets easier as time goes on and others start to understand what you’re all about. I’d rather be making art than updating anything on social media. That being said, I tried to spend a little bit of time on it each day and then make more time for creating sculptures. I’ve learned to be very clear with my social media and not clutter with different hobbies for other things. I’m into this as a business tool. Should have a unified front is what I’m always telling myself.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I don’t start a collection thinking about how much the pieces will be valued at. Everything with me starts with a theme and then I take that further with how it relates to me and what I’m trying to say. And then I just do the art for myself. It truly makes me happy. If I can be specific with what my intent is fro a collection and keep themes as specific as possible the final sculptures can hopefully speak for themselves it’s my job to get out of the way. Listen to what the pieces are telling me. They do just as much for me as I do for them. Is my way of keeping myself fit. However, I guess one could argue that it may have the opposite effect. Hopefully, I won’t know for some years.
I’ve been fortunate to have friends and new acquaintances alike turn out for gallery shows and show support online for my shows. I would say if you were interested in supporting artists and art in general show up to gallery shows, show up to pop-up events, show up to art festivals, and if you can’t be there in person jump in online and leave a comment. When the time comes for you to collect your favorite pieces, artists love hearing from collectors. There’s nothing like it. It challenges artists to keep going. On a deeper level should a piece of art affect you emotionally or show you an alternative perspective, let that turn into a conversation with the artist. Letting the artist know your response to their work is invaluable and if you have the opportunity to sit with an artist’s collection and experience all of the voices together, this experience will likely give you a new appreciation of what the artist is saying. The artist is exploring and you end up learning something about yourself as well. I think that’s the point. I think that’s why people want to experience art, to really experience themselves in a different view.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cubeishim.com/
• Instagram: @DanielFarnamScuplture

Image Credits

📸 @baldwinavenuegallery
(Artist portrait shot)

📸 @danielfarnamsculpture
(All other Art collection images)