Pennies Delightful: Change We Can Believe In

Robert Wechsler Caryatid Pennies Tower Art Sculpture 

The glittering tower of pennies is com[posed of roughly 15,000 individual U.S. cents but it wasn’t built up one by one. On the contrary, Wechsler constructed hundreds of dodecahedral units made up of 20 individual pennies linked by the aforementioned die cut joints. Only once all of the coins were cut and assembled into these dodecahedral “nodes” could the latter be meticulously assembled into a striking whole.

Robert Wechsler Caryatid Pennies Tower Art Sculpture

Speaking of meticulous, close observation of The Caryatid’s component parts reveals each and every coin on the tower’s perimeter faces outward from the center of the column. If you look carefully at the below close up of the Caryatid, you can see that the pennies hold a pattern of repeated orientation.

Robert Wechsler Caryatid Pennies Tower Art Sculpture

This is definitely by design and ended up causing Wechsler much aggravation. “Many times I have placed a coin in the wrong orientation and then had to partially disassemble the sculpture to correct the problem,” explains the artist. “That kind of tedium is the most difficult aspect of the work from a production standpoint.” His efforts reward those who take the time to study The Caryatid at leisure, however, while casual observers might just miss it. Much like the humble penny itself, there’s more to The Caryatid than can be taken in at first glance.

Robert Wechsler Caryatid Pennies Tower Art Sculpture

“People think of pennies as identical coins but I see tremendous variety of texture and color as each coin has lived and aged differently,” muses Wechsler. “It is my goal to get people to see something they take for granted every day in a new light.” Learn more about the artist and his works by visiting his website at RobertWechsler.com. (images and info ©WENN.com)