Messiah College
One College Avenue, Grantham, PA 17027
(717) 766-2511 ext: 7111
3944 Brookridge Dr., Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
leadwhite@verizon.net
danielfinch.com
My paintings are an active attempt to manually rebuild a mechanical image distorted and degraded by the processes of automation and transmission.
Through my physical interaction, my greatest hope for both myself and my viewer is a reconnection with the primacy and energy of the initial event portrayed. It is no accident that the majority of my subject matter is taken from modern archetypal characters and events, whether historic or mythical: King Kong, Evel Knievel, Bruce Lee, etc. They were, for better or worse, powerful symbols for a young boy growing up in the wake of the sexual revolution, in the post-Vietnam 70’s.
My images are, in great part, an unvarnished search for the remnants of masculine identity from among the media icons of Generation X.
Daniel M. Finch was born in 1971 in Orlando Florida, the same year that Disneyworld opened its doors. Childhood was spent in various states including Virginia and Maryland before settling in Augusta Georgia. His formative years were spent balancing the rigors of Type 1 Diabetes with competitive BMX riding. The son of a sculptor, Finch attended Augusta State University to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He later earned his MFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Georgia in Athens. He now lives in a suburb of Harrisburg, PA, with his wife Carrie, and their two children. His work has been exhibited extensively across the country as well as internationally, including large-scale murals, and featured numerous times in the national publication, New American Paintings. Professor Finch has taught in the Department of Art & Design at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania since 2002.