Solar Intersections Art in Davis
California
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.