Kenneth Snelson
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Snelson is a contemporary sculptor
and photographer. His sculptural works are composed of flexible and rigid components arranged according to the idea of 'tensegrity
', although Snelson does not use the term.
Snelson asserts his former professor Buckminster Fuller
took credit for Snelson's discovery of the concept that Fuller named tensegrity. Fuller gave the idea its name, combining 'tension
' and 'structural integrity.' The geodesic dome
s which Fuller popularized are the most commonly known structures whose composition depends on tensegrity.
The height and strength of Snelson's sculptures, which are often delicate in appearance, depend on the tension between rigid pipes and flexible cables. This is achieved through "a win-win combination of push and pull."
in 1927. He studied at the University of Oregon
in Eugene, at the Black Mountain College
, and with Fernand Léger
in Paris
. His sculpture and photography have been exhibited at over 25 one-man shows in galleries around the world including the structurally seminal Park Place Gallery
in New York in the 1960s. Snelson has also done research on the shape of the atom
. Snelson continues to work in his SoHo
studio, occasionally collaborating with animator Jonathan Monaghan
. He lives in New York City
with his wife, Katherine.
He holds four United States patents: #3,169,611: Discontinuous Compression Structures, February, 1965; #3,276,148: Model for Atomic Forms, October, 1966; #4,099,339: Model for Atomic Forms, July, 1978; and #6,017,220: Magnetic Geometric Building System; and most recently, #6,739,937: Space Frame Structure Made by 3-D Weaving of Rod Members, May 25, 2004.
Snelson was a founding member of ConStruct, the artist-owned gallery that promoted and organized large-scale sculpture exhibitions throughout the United States. Other founding members include Mark di Suvero
, John Raymond Henry
, Lyman Kipp
and Charles Ginnever
.
Snelson has been selected to work with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
, on the design of an antenna for the new Freedom Tower
.
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
and photographer. His sculptural works are composed of flexible and rigid components arranged according to the idea of 'tensegrity
Tensegrity
Tensegrity, tensional integrity or floating compression, is a structural principle based on the use of isolated components in compression inside a net of continuous tension, in such a way that the compressed members do not touch each other and the prestressed tensioned members delineate the...
', although Snelson does not use the term.
Snelson asserts his former professor Buckminster Fuller
Buckminster Fuller
Richard Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller was an American systems theorist, author, designer, inventor, futurist and second president of Mensa International, the high IQ society....
took credit for Snelson's discovery of the concept that Fuller named tensegrity. Fuller gave the idea its name, combining 'tension
Tension (mechanics)
In physics, tension is the magnitude of the pulling force exerted by a string, cable, chain, or similar object on another object. It is the opposite of compression. As tension is the magnitude of a force, it is measured in newtons and is always measured parallel to the string on which it applies...
' and 'structural integrity.' The geodesic dome
Geodesic dome
A geodesic dome is a spherical or partial-spherical shell structure or lattice shell based on a network of great circles on the surface of a sphere. The geodesics intersect to form triangular elements that have local triangular rigidity and also distribute the stress across the structure. When...
s which Fuller popularized are the most commonly known structures whose composition depends on tensegrity.
The height and strength of Snelson's sculptures, which are often delicate in appearance, depend on the tension between rigid pipes and flexible cables. This is achieved through "a win-win combination of push and pull."
Biography
Snelson was born in Pendleton, OregonPendleton, Oregon
Pendleton is a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. Pendleton was named in 1868 by the county commissioners for George H. Pendleton, Democratic candidate for Vice-President in the 1864 presidential campaign. The population was 16,612 at the 2010 census...
in 1927. He studied at the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
in Eugene, at the Black Mountain College
Black Mountain College
Black Mountain College, a school founded in 1933 in Black Mountain, North Carolina, was a new kind of college in the United States in which the study of art was seen to be central to a liberal arts education, and in which John Dewey's principles of education played a major role...
, and with Fernand Léger
Fernand Léger
Joseph Fernand Henri Léger was a French painter, sculptor, and filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of Cubism which he gradually modified into a more figurative, populist style...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. His sculpture and photography have been exhibited at over 25 one-man shows in galleries around the world including the structurally seminal Park Place Gallery
Park Place Gallery
Park Place Gallery was a contemporary art gallery located in SoHo in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA, during the mid to late 1960s. Park Place Gallery was located at 542 West Broadway, on what is now LaGuardia Place just north of Houston Street in the neighborhood that is now called "SoHo"...
in New York in the 1960s. Snelson has also done research on the shape of the atom
Atom
The atom is a basic unit of matter that consists of a dense central nucleus surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. The atomic nucleus contains a mix of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons...
. Snelson continues to work in his SoHo
SoHo
SoHo is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, notable for being the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, and also, more recently, for the wide variety of stores and shops ranging from trendy boutiques to outlets of upscale national and international chain stores...
studio, occasionally collaborating with animator Jonathan Monaghan
Jonathan Monaghan
Jonathan Monaghan is an American computer animator and artist.The Washington Post referred to one of his animations as "a riveting evocation of global warming, capitalist suffocation and grief over a furry creature's agony."...
. He lives in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
with his wife, Katherine.
He holds four United States patents: #3,169,611: Discontinuous Compression Structures, February, 1965; #3,276,148: Model for Atomic Forms, October, 1966; #4,099,339: Model for Atomic Forms, July, 1978; and #6,017,220: Magnetic Geometric Building System; and most recently, #6,739,937: Space Frame Structure Made by 3-D Weaving of Rod Members, May 25, 2004.
Snelson was a founding member of ConStruct, the artist-owned gallery that promoted and organized large-scale sculpture exhibitions throughout the United States. Other founding members include Mark di Suvero
Mark di Suvero
Marco Polo "Mark" di Suvero is an American abstract expressionist sculptor born Marco Polo Levi in Shanghai, China in 1933 to Italian expatriates. He immigrated to San Francisco, California in 1942 with his family. From 1953 to 1957, he attended the University of California, Berkeley to study...
, John Raymond Henry
John Raymond Henry
John Raymond Henry is an internationally renowned sculptor. Since 1971, Henry has produced many monumental and large-scaled works of art for museums, cities and public institutions across the United States, Europe and Asia...
, Lyman Kipp
Lyman Kipp
Lyman Kipp is a sculptor and painter who creates pieces that are composed of strong vertical and horizontal objects and are often painted in bold primary colors recalling arrangements by De Stijl Constructivists...
and Charles Ginnever
Charles Ginnever
Charles Ginnever is an American sculptor. He was born in San Mateo, California, in 1931. In 1957, he received his BA from the San Francisco Art Institute and received his MFA from Cornell University in 1959. He started working with canvas and steel scraps painted with bright patterns...
.
Snelson has been selected to work with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP is an American architectural and engineering firm that was formed in Chicago in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings; in 1939 they were joined by John O. Merrill. They opened their first branch in New York City, New York in 1937. SOM is one of the largest...
, on the design of an antenna for the new Freedom Tower
Freedom Tower
One World Trade Center , more simply known as 1 WTC and formerly known as the Freedom Tower, is the lead building of the new World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan in New York City...
.
Honours and awards
- (1999) Lifetime Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award, International Sculpture Center.
California
- City Boots, 1968, J. Patrick Lannon Foundation, Los Angeles
- Mozart I, 1982, Stanford UniversityStanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, Palo Alto
District of Columbia
- Needle TowerNeedle TowerNeedle Tower is a public artwork by American sculptor Kenneth Snelson located outside of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC, United States.-Description:...
, 1968, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture GardenHirshhorn Museum and Sculpture GardenThe Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is an art museum beside the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., the United States. The museum was initially endowed during the 1960s with the permanent art collection of Joseph H. Hirshhorn. It was designed by architect Gordon Bunshaft and is part of the...
, Washington - Untitled Maquette, 1975, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture GardenHirshhorn Museum and Sculpture GardenThe Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is an art museum beside the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., the United States. The museum was initially endowed during the 1960s with the permanent art collection of Joseph H. Hirshhorn. It was designed by architect Gordon Bunshaft and is part of the...
, Washington
Louisiana
- Virlane Tower, 1981, Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden at NOMA, New Orleans
Maryland
- B-Tree, 1981, National Institutes of HealthNational Institutes of HealthThe National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
, Bethesda - Easy Landing, 1977, City of Baltimore, Baltimore
- Six Number TwoSix Number TwoSix Number Two is a stainless steel sculpture by Kenneth Snelson.It is located at the Annmarie Sculpture Garden, Solomons, Maryland, on loan from the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden....
, Annmarie Sculpture Garden, Solomons, MarylandSolomons, MarylandSolomons is a community and census-designated place in Calvert County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,536 at the 2000 census...
Michigan
- Indexer II, 2001, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
- B-Tree II, 2005, Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids
New York
- Coronation Day, 1980, City of Buffalo, Buffalo
- E.C. Column, 1969–81, Albright-Knox Art GalleryAlbright-Knox Art GalleryThe Albright-Knox Art Gallery is an art museum located in Delaware Park in Buffalo, New York. The gallery is a major showplace for modern art and contemporary art. It is located directly across the street from Buffalo State College.-History:...
, Buffalo - Four Chances, 1982, Albright Knox Museum, Buffalo
- Fair Leda, 1969, Nelson Rockefeller Estate
- Free Ride Home, 1974, Storm King Art CenterStorm King Art CenterThe Storm King Art Center in Mountainville, New York is an open air museum which has extended the concept of a "sculpture garden" to become a "sculpture landscape." Founded in 1960 by Ralph E. Ogden as a museum for Hudson Valley painters, it soon expanded into a major sculpture venue with the...
, Mountainville - Mozart I, 1982, Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Garden at Pepsico, Purchase
- Sun River, 1967, Whitney Museum of American ArtWhitney Museum of American ArtThe Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
, New York
Ohio
- Forest Devil, 1975, University of CincinnatiUniversity of CincinnatiThe University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
, Cincinnati - V-X, 1968, Columbus Museum of ArtColumbus Museum of ArtThe Columbus Museum of Art is an art museum located in downtown Columbus, Ohio. Formed in 1878 as the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, it was the first art museum to register its charter with the state of Ohio.-Building:...
, Columbus
Tennessee
- Dragon II, 2005, Knoxville Museum of ArtKnoxville Museum of ArtThe Knoxville Museum of Art is a contemporary art museum located at 1050 World's Fair Park in Knoxville, Tennessee. The KMA is committed to developing exhibitions by emerging artists of national and international reputation.- History :...
, Knoxville - V-X-II, 1973-4, Hunter Museum, Chattanooga
Germany
- Soft Landing, 1975–77, Berlin Nationalgalerie, Berlin
- Avenue K, 1968, City of Hannover
The Netherlands
- Easy-K, 1970, Sonsbeek ‘70, Arnhem
- Needle Tower II, 1969, Kröller Müller Museum, Otterlo
Japan
- Osaka, 1970, Japan Iron & Steel Federation, Kobe
- T-Zone Flight, 1995, JT Building, Toranomon, Tokyo
- Landing, 1970, Wakayama Prefecture Museum, Wakayama
Unknown Location
- Audrey I, 1966, Private Collection
- Audrey II, 1966, Private Collection
- Equilateral Quivering Tower, 1973–92
- Tri-Core Column, 1974
- Wing I, 1992; Ed. 4, Private collection
- Rainbow Arch, 2001
- Sleeping Dragon, 2002–03
- Dragon, 2000–03
Further reading
- Heartney, Eleanor, Kenneth Snelson: forces made visible/essay by Eleanor Heartney; additional text by Kenneth Snelson, Lenox, Massachusetts: Hard Press Editions, 2009.