Kenneth Duane Snelson (June 29, 1927 – December 22, 2016) was an American contemporary sculptor and photographer. His sculptural works, exemplified by ''

Needle Tower ''Needle Tower'' is a public artwork by United States, American sculptor Kenneth Snelson located outside of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., United States. Description This 26.5-meter-tall abstract sculpture is a ...

'', are composed of flexible and rigid components arranged according to the idea of '

tensegrity Tensegrity, tensional integrity or floating compression is a structural principle based on a system of isolated components under compression (physical), compression inside a network of continuous tension (mechanics), tension, and arranged in s ...

'. Snelson preferred the descriptive term floating compression. Snelson said his former professor

Buckminster Fuller Richard Buckminster Fuller (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, publishing more t ...

took credit for Snelson's discovery of the concept that Fuller named tensegrity. Fuller gave the idea its name, combining ' tension' and '

structural integrity ''Structural Integrity'' is a scientific book series covering the research field and technical view of the structural integrity and failure area. The series was established in 2017 and is published by Springer Science+Business Media. The editors-i ...

.' Kārlis Johansons had exhibited tensegrity sculptures several years before Snelson was even born. The height and strength of Snelson's sculptures, which are often delicate in appearance, depend on the tension between rigid pipes and flexible cables.

Biography

Snelson was born in

Pendleton, Oregon Pendleton is a city in and the county seat of Umatilla County, Oregon, Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. The population was 17,107 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which includes approximately 1,600 people who are ...

, in 1927. He studied at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

in Eugene, at the

Black Mountain College Black Mountain College was a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Black Mountain, North Carolina. It was founded in 1933 by John Andrew Rice, Theodore Dreier, and several others. The coll ...

, and with

Fernand Léger Joseph Fernand Henri Léger (; February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor, and film director, filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism (known as "tubism") which he gradually ...

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 The Park Place Gallery was a contemporary cooperative art gallery, in operation from 1963 to 1967, and was located in New York City. The Park Place Gallery was a notable as a post-World War II gallery for both its location and that it supported a ...

in New York in the 1960s. Snelson also did research on the shape of the

atom Atoms are the basic particles of the chemical elements. An atom consists of a atomic nucleus, nucleus of protons and generally neutrons, surrounded by an electromagnetically bound swarm of electrons. The chemical elements are distinguished fr ...

. Snelson continued to work in his

SoHo SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

studio, occasionally collaborating with animator Jonathan Monaghan. He lived in New York City with his wife, Katherine. He held five 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 was also a pioneer of

digital art Digital art, or the digital arts, is artistic work that uses Digital electronics, digital technology as part of the creative or presentational process. It can also refer to computational art that uses and engages with digital media. Since the 1960 ...

, using a Silicon Graphics machine to produce artistic images in the 1980s. After suffering from

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

, Snelson died on December 22, 2016, at the age of 89. File:KrollerMuller ParkSculpture4.jpg, ''Needle Tower II'', 1968 ( Kröller-Müller Museum,

Otterlo Otterlo is a village in the municipality of Ede of province of Gelderland in the Netherlands, in or near the Nationaal Park De Hoge Veluwe. The Kröller-Müller Museum, named after Helene Kröller-Müller, is situated nearby and has the world ...

, Netherlands) File:Kenneth Snelson - "Tree I".jpg, ''B-Tree'', 1981 (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland) File:Avenue K 02.jpg, ''Avenue K'', 1968 (

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, Germany) File:Osaka II (Kenneth Snelson), Große Wallanlagen, Hamburg (1).jpg, ''Osaka II'', park '' Planten un Blomen'',

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

File:"Indexer II" Sculpture, University of Michigan North Campus, Ann Arbor, Michigan - panoramio.jpg, "Indexer II" Sculpture,

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

North Campus,

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

Honours and awards

* (1999) Lifetime Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award, International Sculpture Center.

Sculptures in public collections and public spaces

United States

Alabama

* ''Mora Terry II'',

Birmingham Museum of Art The Birmingham Museum of Art is a museum in Birmingham, Alabama. Its collection includes more than 24,000 paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, and decorative arts representing various cultures, including Asian, European, United States, Amer ...

, Birmingham

California

* ''City Boots'', 1968, J. Patrick Lannon Foundation, Los Angeles * ''Mozart I'', 1982,

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, Palo Alto

District of Columbia

* ''

'', 1968,

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is an art museum beside the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. The museum was initially endowed during the 1960s with the permanent art collection of Joseph H. Hirshhorn. It was designed ...

, Washington * ''Untitled Maquette'', 1975,

, Washington

Florida

* ''Newport'', 1968, M. Margulies, Coconut Grove *
Double City Boots
', 1967, MDC Wolfson Campus, Miami * ''X-Planar Tower'', John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota

Iowa

* ''Four Module Piece'', 1968, Riverfront Crossings Park, Iowa City

Louisiana

* ''Virlane Tower'', 1981, Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden at NOMA, New Orleans

Maryland

* ''B-Tree'', 1981,

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

, Bethesda * ''Easy Landing'', 1977, City of Baltimore, Baltimore *'' Six Number Two'', 1967, Annmarie Sculpture Garden (Smithsonian partner/annex site),

Solomons, Maryland Solomons, also known as Solomons Island, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Calvert County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,368 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, up from 1,536 in 2000. S ...

Massachusetts

* ''Mozart III'', 2008, Science Center,

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

, Wellesley,

Michigan

* ''Indexer II'', 2001, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor * ''B-Tree II'', 2005, Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids

Missouri

* ''Triple Crown'', 1991, Hallmark, Inc.,

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

, just north of 27th Street between Main Street and Grand Blvd, at the South end of the Crown Center complex. The sculpture consists of 30–40 aluminum tubes held together and apart by steel cables. The entire assembly is roughly 23 meters on each of three sides and roughly that tall, with the low point being roughly 5 meters above the ground.This description was judged by eye from the image in

Google Earth Google Earth is a web mapping, web and computer program created by Google that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satelli ...

. It could be improved by closer inspection. Freedom of panorama in the United States does not extend to art work. Thus, including photos of this in Wikimedia Commons would require the permission of the owner, Crown Center.

Nebraska

* ''Able Charlie'', 1983, Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha

New York

* ''Coronation Day'', 1980, City of Buffalo, Buffalo * ''E.C. Column'', 1969–81,

Albright-Knox Art Gallery The Buffalo AKG Art Museum, formerly known as the Albright–Knox Art Gallery, is an art museum located adjacent to Delaware Park, Buffalo, New York, United States. The museum shows modern art and contemporary art. It is directly opposite Buff ...

, Buffalo * ''Four Chances'', 1982, Albright Knox Museum, Buffalo * ''Fair Leda'', 1969, Nelson Rockefeller Estate * ''Free Ride Home'', 1974, Storm King Art Center, Mountainville * ''Mozart II'', 1982, Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Garden at Pepsico, Purchase * ''Sun River'', 1967,

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is a Modern art, modern and Contemporary art, contemporary American art museum located in the Meatpacking District, Manhattan, Meatpacking District and West Village neighbor ...

, New York * ''One World Trade Center antenna/spire'', 2006,

One World Trade Center One World Trade Center, also known as One WTC and as the Freedom Tower, is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, One World Tr ...

, New York

New Jersey

* ''Northwood II'', 1970, Compton Quad, Graduate College, Princeton, Mercer

North Carolina

* ''Northwood II''(maquette), 1970, Asheville Art Museum, Asheville

Pennsylvania

* ''Forest Devil'', 1975–77, Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh

Ohio

* ''Forest Devil'', 1975,

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

, Cincinnati * ''V-X'', 1968,

Columbus Museum of Art The Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in downtown Columbus, Ohio. Formed in 1878 as the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts (its name until 1978), it was the first art museum to register its charter with the state of Ohio. The museum collec ...

, Columbus * Rainbow Arch
Seltzer Sculpture Park
11205 Harborview Dr, Cleveland, OH 44102

Oklahoma

* ''Sleeping Dragon'', 2002–03, Kirkpatrick Oil Company Building, Oklahoma City

Tennessee

* ''Dragon II'', 2005,

Knoxville Museum of Art The Knoxville Museum of Art (KMA), is an art museum in Knoxville, Tennessee. It specializes in historical and contemporary art pieces from the East Tennessee region. According to its mission statement, the museum "celebrates the art and artists ...

, Knoxville * ''V-X-II'', 1973-4, Hunter Museum, Chattanooga

Texas

* ''Northwood'', 1969, Northwood Institute, Cedar Hills

Vermont

* "Hard Wired", Bennington (College)

Wisconsin

* ''Northwoods III'', 1970,

Milwaukee Art Museum The Milwaukee Art Museum (also referred to as MAM) is an art museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its collection of over 34,000 works of art and gallery spaces totaling 150,000 sq. ft. (13,900 m²) make it the largest art museum in the state of Wis ...

, Milwaukee

International

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 * ''Needle Tower II'', 1989, Shiga Prefecture Museum, Shiga * ''T-Zone Flight'', 1995, JT Building, Toranomon, Tokyo * ''Landing'', 1970, Wakayama Prefecture Museum, Wakayama

Location unknown

* ''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 : University of Puerto Rico – Mayaguez * ''Rainbow Arch'', 2001, Private collection displayed at Seltzer Sculpture Garden, Cleveland, OH * ''Dragon'', 2000–03

References

*Busch, Julia M.
''A Decade of Sculpture: the New Media in the 1960s''
(The Art Alliance Press: Philadelphia
Associated University Presses
: London, 1974)

External links

Kenneth Snelson's official webpage

* ttp://www.askyfilledwithshootingstars.com/wordpress/?p=527 Snelson interview with Robert Ayers, March 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Snelson, Kenneth 1927 births 2016 deaths American modern sculptors Black Mountain College alumni Deaths from prostate cancer in New York (state) Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Op art People from Pendleton, Oregon Sculptors from Oregon University of Oregon alumni