Solar Intersections is a
commissioned work by renown artist and educator Robert Behrens. The
installation built in 1989 includes sixteen 70-foot-high steel poles coated
with a special adhesive paint on which solar panels are placed. Framed by
crate myrtle trees and perennial flowers planted in a checkerboard pattern,
the artist created an entire setting to reflect the place in which his work
is displayed. Over 30 of Behrens' masterpiece sculptures made with a variety
of metals and materials such as steel, granite and cement can be seen across
the U.S. from Fairbanks, Alaska to Cambridge, Mass.
Solar Intersections is one of
California's outstanding artworks and like Sundial Bridge in Redding, should
not be missed. Visible in the distance as its spires beam reflected light,
the magical changing colors only nature can produce draw you into not one
but many rainbows in which you become the master, manipulating the colors
yourself as you change positions.
In addition to reflecting
light, themes such as use of solar energy use, transportation, nature and
the interplay of the earth and sky are prevalent in Solar Intersections.
