Daniel McDonald

Mindy Vale, Daniel McDonald’s alter ego, posing in his studio, photographed by Patterson Beckwith

text by BILL POWERS

DANIEL McDONALD, Mended Veil

Consumers exchange merchandise everyday, for a variety of reasons, but how often do you hear of superstition being the cause? That’s exactly what happened after a man bought his wife one of Daniel McDonald’s “Bad Luck” charm bracelets for a surprise. He returned the piece, along with the black cat figurine it’s sold with, and bought a “Questionable Beliefs” charm bracelet instead. This piece comes with a miniature heart, a ghost, an alien, Christ and Santa Claus figures, a dollar sign, and a suite of fairy pendants, and is accompanied by a museum catalogue about unicorns. Both works were on display at Salon 94’s Crown Jewels exhibition last winter. Daniel McDonald, seen here as his alter ego, Mindy Vale, credits Haim Steinbach and Robert…