Celebrate Gaia: Aspects of Solar Art

Fig. 3. Otto Piene, Sunburst, programmed environmental light installation constructed of chromed brass, Plexiglas, prisms, motors and lights, 1971. Located in the foyer of the Worcester Center, Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.A. (Photo: Ed Oliver) Fig. 4. Otto Piene, Night Sun, light sculpture within Light and Elements Environment, bronze, water, steel, lights, timers, 50 ft maximum height, 1970-1976. Located at the central area ofthe University of Constance, Germany. "The potential of a kinetic set of conditions (versus a 'kinetic object') is to create an environment on a large scale that abandons the petty, perspectival, Renaissance viewer-object relationship and provides an experience that is analogous to an experience of the universe." (Otto Piene, More Sky, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1973.) (Photo:Jiirgen Claus) about man-made beauty altogether and look to the sun for a while" [2]. "Coins are sun symbols; Roi Soleil is a preferred ruler image reflecting enlightenment ; the clock is the sun image of the Renaissance-portable and not" [3]. I quote Georges Bataille: ''The midday sun ... too bright for the eyes ... when obstinately looked at becomes horribly ugly.... The bull is also an image of the sun ... but only when slaughtered...." [4] The tower of Babel was built toward the sun; the Egyptian (and other) pyramids were sun installations; sun rays mark stigmata; Icarus the flyer was felled by the sun..the Hawaiian volcano Haleakala is "the' House of the Sun" where Pele, the Polynesian fire goddess , mates. The text, the lyrics, the words, the total vocabulary of TheProliferation of the Sun is also an ancient Mexican chant/image as well as the rhythm of the Kraftwerk (power generator/power station): The Sun. The Sun. The Sun. References 1. Otto Piene, 'The Proliferation of the Sun," Arts Canada (Toronto: Society for Art, 1967). 2. Otto Pierre, "Death Is So Permanent," Arts Canada (Toronto: Society for Art, 1968). 3. Otto Piene, "Story of Light-Night and Day. Ad Infinitum?" in LightsOROT(New York:YeshivaUniv. Museum, 1988) p. 30. 4. Cited in Roland Penrose, Picasso: His Life and Work (London: 1958; Rev. Ed. 1982). Manuscript received 19July 1995. Celebrate Gaia: Aspects of Solar Art Theodosia H. Ferguson As crew of Spaceship Earth (to borrow Buckminster Fuller's exquisitely turned phrase), we need to stimulate our civilization to reclaim our relationship with other species, with nature and with each other. As a participating SolArtist, I am excited about this endeavor-the SolArt Global Network-to embrace new vision and communication, both conceptual and experiential. What are the SolArtists calling for, in their various ways? Bycreating with the engine of our solar system, these artists coax us to revisit our basic relationship with the cosmos and take stock of some overlooked storehouses-both external and internal . Looking outside ourselves, we must reconsider our mix of energy sources with an eye to effectively maximizing our use and reuse of renewables. Turning inward, we must develop an underlying awareness of the relationship of each self as a part of the whole organism that is the Planet Earth. This new relationship, this actual use of all our faculties-intuition, cognition, etc.-to experience ourselves as part of the whole organism, makes it possible to collaborate with, enhance and celebrate Gaia, the soul of the world. What are the variations of solar art as a medium? There are ways of playing with light through the use of reflection and refraction, as inJiirgen Claus's underwater performance pieces, in which sunlight is reflected by means of aluminum disks by wetsuit-elad performers (Fig. 5). There are means of bending light and breaking the spectrum apart; there are wavelengths of light (e.g. infrared , ultraviolet) that can be employed in addition to visible light, Theodosia H. Ferguson (environmentalist, artist), 1642 Milvla, #4, Berkeley, CA 94709, U.S.A. Manuscript solicited byJurgen Claus. An earlier version of this article was published in the fkm Newsletter15, No.5 (1995). SolArt Global Network 69 Fig. 6. Paul MacCready, Solar Challenger, solar-powered aircraft, on exhibition in the National Air and Space Museum, Washington. (Photo courtesy Paul MacCready) Fig. 5. Jiirgen Claus, Divers with Reflecting Stars, "Planet Ocean" underwater event, Long Island , Bahamas, 1979. which occupies only a very...