Magnetic Current

Magnetic Current is a short pamphlet by eccentric sculptor and writer Edward Leedskalnin. Detailing his many experiments with magnets, this work posits that it is not metal itself that is magnetic. Rather, tiny individual magnet particles that circulate in and around the metal give it its pull. Edward Leedskalnin was born in Latvia in 1887. While his formal education lasted only until 4th grade, he was intensely curious and spent much of his youth reading. At the age of 26, Leedskalnin became engaged. But as the young woman was only 16, she (or her mother) decided that he wasn’t a suitable match and called off the wedding the day before it was set to occur. Heartbroken, Leedskalnin emigrated to the United States. In 1923, he purchased an undeveloped acre of land in Florida City. Over the next 28 years, Leedskalnin cut massive pieces of oolite rock from his property, moved them, and sculpted them—all on his own. He built a two-story tower from oolite, which served as his living quarters. In the grounds below, sculptures and carved stone furniture dot the landscape. The project was dedicated to his “Sweet Sixteen,” the woman who rejected him years before. During the years of his construction project, Leedskalnin studied and tested magnets from his home base of Rock Gate. His findings were eventually compiled into Magnetic Current, a short pamphlet detailing his theories of magnetism. The pamphlet explains many of his experiments. Using U-shaped, round, and bar magnets, as well as car batteries, light bulbs, and coils of wire, he demonstrates the movements of magnetic currents in a double helix pattern, swirling around each other to create pull.