Entering into a dialogue with the work 369 means leaving the rational world and surrendering to pure imagination. Sculptor Milan Kuzica touches on one of the deepest secrets of modern science and the human mind – Nikola Tesla’s mystical fascination with the number triad of 3, 6 and 9. For the brilliant designer, these numbers were a sacred geometric order through which he perceived the universe not as a cold machine, but as a living field of vibrations, energies and frequencies.
Kuzica’s sculptural gesture gives this elusive concept a body. The seemingly cold geometry of the object transforms into a pulsating organism under the influence of light and the human gaze. The numbers 3 and 6 in the sculpture come to life as an internal energetic tension, while the number nine anchors it at the point of absolute integrity and cosmic emptiness. It is spatial poetry about how the human desire for knowledge can bend matter and time.
The work carries within it a quiet monumentality and a deep emotional dimension of human destiny and legacy. It awakens in us the imagination of the invisible currents of energy that intersect our landscape and our present. It is a fascinating monument to the human spirit that dared to think in the intentions of the entire universe.
The exact scientist and engineer Nikola Tesla was undoubtedly one of the greatest visionaries of our time. Behind his inventions such as alternating current, lightning research, transformer designs and electric cars, Tesla‘s fascination with numbers remains - 3, 6, 9 - he tried to describe the entire universe with them. And it is this fact that inspired the sculpture 369 by Milan Kuzica.
According to Tesla, the three mentioned numbers had an absolutely exceptional position in geometry and mathematical structure. He subjected his life to them with extreme rituals in an attempt to cleanse his mind. The numbers 3 and 6 represented an energy bridge. The number 9 symbolized the universe, emptiness and integrity at the same time. Tesla argued that if we want to understand the universe, we must think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration. And for him, the numbers 3, 6 and 9 were the expression of these vibrations. A seemingly abstract concept changes when put into context with geometry and time.
Tesla‘s legacy has been taken up by modern pop culture in the 21st century. It has transformed Tesla‘s fascination with energy and frequencies into a psychological tool for better concentration and achieving goals.
When Tesla became famous, a young journalist asked him how it was possible that he, a great inventor, had no monument, when monuments were being built to others who had much less merit in the world. Tesla replied that this was not true, because he had the most monuments. When the surprised journalist asked him where these monuments of his were located, Tesla replied: „...Every high-voltage transmission line pole is one of the monuments of my work. Now count them!“
Versions
369 Blue — blue resin, bronze, interior version with a 369 mm circle, 37 × 30 × 54 cm
369 — stainless steel, interior version with a 369 mm circle, 36.9 × 21.5 × 59 cm
369 — stainless steel, Corten, exterior version with a 188 cm circle, 188 × 108 × 255 cm, about 340 kg
Making of
