"Since I\u2019ve started making work it always feels like whatever idea I\u2019m delving into in the present is the last good idea."\n- Daniel Arsham\nHey everybody, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO, the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It's my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I'm so glad you're joining me on this journey!\n\nI want to start off with this thought: Art is all about shifting people's expectations.\xa0\n\nSome artists represent the world as it is, and other artists have a goal of manipulating that representation. Daniel Arsham aims to do just that with his futuristic artwork, which ranges from large scale architectural pieces to castings made of ash to paintings and much more.\n\nI recently discovered Daniel's art through my friend Usher, and he does some truly amazing work. He has shown his art all around the world at places like the MoMA PS1 and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Miami. Daniel has also begun using his art for social justice; he\u2019s alchemizing his gifts and creating both art and social change in the process. He also created the architecture firm Snarkitecture, as well as a film production company called Film the Future.\n\nIn my conversation with Daniel, we talk about how he started his own exhibition space to catalyze his career, how he started making money with his art, and what his experimentation process is like. We also discuss why he often uses volcanic ash as a medium, his use of lucid dreaming, and the power of social media for artists.\xa0\n\nThis interview was full of fascinating discussion about so many different areas of the art world, and I'm so excited to share it with you today. Without further ado \u2014 let's dive in.\nWho Is Daniel Arsham?\nTeddy bears made from amethyst. Volcanic ash sculpted into a camera. A seated woman formed out of glass. These are just a few examples of the incredible and diverse pieces that Daniel Arsham has created.\xa0\n\nDaniel Arsham is a New York based artist who straddles the line between art, architecture, and performance. He grew up in Miami, Florida, and his original studies were actually in photography. After graduating high school, Daniel attended The Copper Union art school in New York City.\n\nHe says the beginning of his career started in 2002, when he moved back to Miami after school in New York City, and he and his friends rented a dilapidated house. They started an exhibition space called 'The House,' which was available for artists in the area to use. This is when he intentionally made the switch to architecture as his artistic career.\xa0\n\nManipulated architecture is a prevalent subject in his work \u2014 many of his pieces include stairs, landscapes, and architectural structures that are eroded, enveloped by nature, or doing things different from their intended function. Daniel's work possesses a sort of playfulness and confusion \u2014 many pieces mimic everyday objects, but their medium and intention has been repurposed. When you look at one of his pieces on his website\xa0 (which I encourage you to do as you read or listen to this interview), you'll be hit with a sense of distorted familiarity.\xa0\n"So I was really interested in taking everyday things that we recognize things [and] that we know from our everyday experience and transforming them in a way that would create a kind of uncanny sense, right? Anytime you can take things that people have a certain expectation about and slightly twist that, it can create and provoke very unique experiences."\xa0\n- Daniel Arsham\nIn addition to his architectural and sculptural work, Daniel also has created several stage designs that have been showcased worldwide in places such as The New Museum, IVAM in Spain, and the Hellenic Festival in Athens, Greece.\xa0\n\nAnd if that wasn't enough, in 2007, Daniel founded Snarkitecture with partner Alex Mustonen to expand the possibilities of spatial manipulation and collaboration.