Colossal · Creativity & design

Daniel Minter's Art Explores Spirituality Through Carved Assemblages

Artist Daniel Minter's work, featured in the exhibition Thresholds at the Haggerty Museum of Art, delves into the spiritual dimensions of everyday objects and the power of creation.

Minter creates "talismans, tools, and objects of remembrance," such as hand brooms made in participatory workshops. He examines how acts of cleansing and care can be forms of devotion and empowerment, viewing his art as a public service.

Raised in segregated Georgia, Minter was inspired by systems that foster empowerment, like his mother's singing and his own early artistic inclinations. He studied illustration and has received a Caldecott Medal for his children's book work.

At the Haggerty Museum, Minter displays community-created brooms alongside vibrant carved sculptures. These figurative assemblages combine found objects and selected materials, which he believes act as vessels for spiritual and ancestral knowledge.

Minter sees his carving as a way to connect with and continue a tradition of creating tools for communication and transformation, linking his work to objects in the Haggerty Museum's collection.

His exhibition design incorporates natural elements, with walls representing the ocean, fire, and forest. A central sculpture, typically displayed outdoors, is Minter's hopeful response to finding a future when circumstances seem bleak.

Minter states that objects do not transmit spirituality but rather remind people of their own spirituality, enabling deeper thought and the overcoming of obstacles. This function, he considers, is a service.

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