Al-Nitak
(24"L x 12W x 25"H)
The StarSentient™ sculpture Al-Nitak is named for the furthest left-hand star of the three stars in the “belt” of the Orion constellation. Its name comes from the Arabic meaning “the girdle.” There is good evidence that the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt was built centered on it. The star Alnitak is actually a triple-star system, with the primary a hot, blue super-giant that is one of the brightest in the night sky and the most massive, rare class O-type (1 in 3 million) of visible stars. Residing approximately 1,260 light-years away, it has a diameter nearly 20 times that of the Sun and a brightness calculated at some 21,000 times that of the Sun. In about a million years, it is expected to expand into a red supergiant, wider than the orbit of Jupiter, before contracting and ending its life as a supernova, the explosion of which is likely to transform it into a black hole.
The sculpture’s ascending form conveys a weave of dynamic energy blended into a calming presence. The complex, interwoven, spiraled, clear-bottom elements yield upwards into a sandblasted and sealed top spire.
