Needle Tower

Needle Tower by Kenneth Snelson (1968)
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Kenneth Snelson is well-known for his sculptures that involve tensegrity. He has popularized the idea of tensegrity, a combination of tension and integrity, to create some of the most amazing structures in the world including the Needle Tower. He is a contemporary sculptor and photographer and his work has been featured in many art exhibits all over the world. He was born in 1927 in Oregon, only a few years before World War II. He currently resides in New York City where he was recently assigned to work on the antenna for the new Freedom Tower.
The Needle Tower was created in 1968 and is probably Snelson's most recognized piece. It is built around his famous idea of tensegrity and is created of large metal poles and metal wires which are actually quite stable. He also has studied the atom which may be the reason why many of his sculptures are so intricate like this one. This sculpture stands out as formalism because the thing that is featured in this sculpture are lines in a complicated pattern. It seems as if the poles are meant to make the sculpture look strong and sturdy. The blue background lets the simple lines stand out stong and tall. If they were in front of a multiple-color background, they might not look as powerful. I also wonder about the six-pointed star that appears in the sculpture which could also be called a Jewish Star. Maybe he did this because he was Jewish or maybe it was unintentional. Maybe it had to do with the fact that he was born around the time of the Holocaust, and he did this in remembrance of the six-million Jews who died in that war.