1.03.2012

the genius of kenneth snelson

Kenneth Snelson
"Self-Portrait"
Pendleton, Oregon
1948

The faculty and student
roster from Black Mountain College
always amazes me.
Kenneth Snelson is one of the most 
amazing of the student alumni
in my opinion.
You might even say that the student was really
the teacher as the
equally amazing Buckminster Fuller
would find out when he saw Kenneth's
early sculptures.
Some would even say the Master
used this encounter with Snelson's 
work to alter the course of his own work,
without even a nod to his student.
But I'll leave that debate to the 
scholars,
I just like to look at the pretty pictures......

Kenneth Snelson
"Early X-Piece"
1948

Kenneth Snelson
"Moving Column, 1st Study"
1948

Kenneth Snelson
"Moving Column, 2nd Study"
1948

Kenneth Snelson
"Bat Wing Piece"
1948

Kenneth Snelson
"X-Column"
1959

Kenneth Snelson
"Ball Chain Helix"
1959

Kenneth Snelson
"Harry's Hen"
1960

Kenneth Snelson in his studio on Spring Street
with "Arcuate Lip Superstar".
New York City
1960

Kenneth Snelson
"Fair Leda"
(Early study)
1960

Kenneth Snelson 
"X-Planar Tower"
1962-88

Kenneth Snelson
"Spring Street"
1964

Kenneth Snelson 
"Sag Harbor II"
1965

Kenneth Snelson
"Double City Boots"
Miami
1968

Kenneth Snelson with
"Newport" model.
The Springs, Long Island
1967

Kenneth Snelson making adjustments to
"Needle Tower II"
Netherlands
1971

Kenneth Snelson 
"Eight Rubber Wheels"
1948

Kenneth Snelson 
"Atom Study With Seven Nested Circlespheres"
1960

Kenneth Snelson 
"Circlespheres With Four Centuring Axes"
1974

Kenneth Snelson 
"Magnet Cyclopropane"
1976

Kenneth Snelson 
"Magnet Fourteen Matrix BCC"
1962

Kenneth Snelson 
"Study for Atomic Space 3"
1963

Kenneth Snelson 
"Homage to the Uncertainty Principle; 
A Device to Aid in Locating
Electrons in an Atom
If There Were a
Means to Look For Them."
1964

Kenneth Snelson 
"Study for Atomic Space 1"
1964

Kenneth Snelson 
"Study for Big Atom"
1965

Kenneth Snelson 
"Three-Shell Magnet Piece"
1976

From the book

More
on the 
Amazing Mr. Snelson

6 comments:

  1. Wow, I've never heard of him before, somehow. Those are incredible! Genius is correct.

    ReplyDelete
  2. A- I bet you have seen his large scale work before. I just tried to show the more obscure early models/maquettes. I will do another post soon of the large scale works.... P

    ReplyDelete
  3. this is really great, thanks so much for sharing.

    sincerely,

    uniformla.tumblr.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Early x-piece -gasp. Thanks for this great post

    ReplyDelete
  5. uniform: no, really, thank you, checkin' out your tumbler, and soooo into it! u seem 2 b coordinating your amazing curated images not only according to topic, but by color.... jealous! KUTGW!, Best-MB

    ReplyDelete
  6. Car tires, bicycle tires and condoms...love it...

    ReplyDelete