| Remembering David Finn
David's Paperclip Sculptures
Ruder Finn founder David Finn believed creativity lived beyond canvases and conference rooms. Sometimes it lived in the smallest, most ordinary things, like a paperclip. When he quit smoking he needed something to keep his hands busy and what began as a simple replacement soon became a lifelong creative ritual. He would twist and bend paperclips into delicate wire sculptures: dancers mid-movement, tiny abstract forms, miniature worlds balanced on a desk edge. These weren’t side projects; they were reminders that imagination doesn’t wait for the perfect moment or the perfect tool. It shows up wherever we let it.
Those paperclip creations still live throughout our offices today—quiet sparks of his curiosity, tucked on bookshelves and desktops, passed from one generation of colleagues to the next. They’re more than mementos. They’re daily invitations to look closer, think differently, and find the unexpected. In many ways, they capture the essence of David’s legacy: the intersection of human imagination and everyday life, made tangible in a simple twist of wire.
David's Thoughts & Images
The practice of “Thoughts & Images”— combining observations about human behavior and motivation from well-known authors, poets, politicians, historians, philosophers, with photographs of sculpture — began in the late 1950s, and beginning in the 1990s they were distributed monthly to Ruder Finn’s employees, clients and friends. They combined two of David’s most cherished pursuits: a lifelong commitment to searching for ethical guidelines for creative and responsible communication, and a passion for uncovering the the truth. His photography lens enabled him to look at a problem through many different perspectives in a unique way.
David wondered how people in the world of communications, who strive to be creative in their professional and personal lives, could also be guided by meaningful values. He recognized that it was easy to profess concern for such values, but much harder to search within oneself to see what relevance they had to the way we live and work.
“Thoughts & Images” were meant to encourage introspection. The “thoughts” he chose sometimes challenged the value of fame and glory; others questioned the benefits derived from different types of persuasion; some wondered about the advice given to those in positions of corporate or public prominence; and many others highlighted simplicity of thought and directness of action. He hoped these thoughts and images would stimulate and resonate with readers.
David’s Books
David’s passion for photography culminated in the publication of more than 100 books of art and sculpture. Through his lens, David uniquely and profoundly portrayed ancient Egyptian, to classical Greek sculpture, to Western art from the 12th-20th centuries, and more. His books also came to feature the names of celebrated icons in American culture, including former First Lady Hillary Clinton, who wrote the preface for 20th Century American Culture in the White House Garden; E.L. Doctorow, with whom he co-wrote Lamentation: 9/11, and Kofi Annan, former U.N. Secretary General and David’s close friend, who wrote the book’s foreword.
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Thought-provoking and imaginative, David’s work was, in many ways, ahead of its time — and, today, commemorates a creative talent that is altogether timeless.
