The Fight to (re)Light Raleigh’s Color Wall
You’d never know it, but nestled among the stacks inside NC State University’s D.H. Hill Library is one of Raleigh’s most original and beautiful works of public art. The Color Wall, a creation of the late Joe Cox, a local artist and former NC State College of Design professor, once broadcast a striking, ever-changing palette of color and light onto Hillsborough Street.
image courtesy Karl Larson + The Color Wall blog
The display, sadly, fell dark in the 1990s because of the malfunctioning switches and gears that first gave it life in the early 1970s. A short-lived restoration effort sparked the Color Wall back to brilliance in 2005, but a mere two years later, the entire system shut down.
That’s about to change.
Led by NC State grad Karl Larson, a graphic designer and contributor to Goodnight, Raleigh!, a grassroots movement to restore the Color Wall is gaining steam. They’re raising funds on pace, they hope, to re-light the Color Wall within the coming year. For good.
They plan to replace the antiquated mechanical device with a modern, computerized system that will eliminate the need for repeated repairs.
Check out The Color Wall blog for more information and for ways to help the cause. Also, keep your eyes peeled for a public event this spring featuring paintings by Joe Cox.
– Suzanne, pretty*swell
Very cool!