Kimsooja’s Needle Woman at Cornell University

Nano-technology, used by scientists in the past to isolate cancer cells and purify water, is now the key to a towering figure of art. 20140919_175836Artist Kimsooja’s Needle Woman was unveiled this week on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. The effervescent glow of the plexiglass, produced by two polymers in active conflict, creates a hue akin to abalone and butterfly wings. 20140919_175927And offers a light that is always changing.

Surprisingly, the needle does not dominate Cornell’s Arts Quadrangle but blends in, as Kimsooja says, “like a needle among paths of thread”. 20140919_175916Originally the idea was for visitors to visit the space inside, one by one, but the artist came to the realization that the piece was better appreciated from without, forever outside.

It is on display until December 22 at Cornell University.