“Solar Illumination I: The Evolution of Language,” is the first PV-embedded piece of art in the United States and may well be a harbinger of things to come for an increasingly tech-savvy art world. Installed at the new Pearl Avenue Branch Library in San Jose, California, this functional piece combines art, technology, and solar power to provide an interesting, educational, and literally powerful work.

While the installation does not produce much power — enough to power a single LED lamp inside the library — it does exemplify the possibilities behind building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). Present technology is not terribly far off from wide-scale BIPV installations that go well beyond solar shingles. This project is a pioneering example.

“Solar Illumination I” was designed by artist Lynn Goodpasture, who has long valued art in architecture, and fabricated by Peters Glass Studios. The piece consists of four art glass windows embedded with PV solar cells. The windows themselves visually explore the evolution of alphabets and written language, including Latin, Russian, Vietnamese, and the several Indian languages which adorn the windows. “We Are All One” is then aptly, and repeatedly, engraved on the lamp for which the windows provide power.

This artful PV installation is certainly more art than power at this point but it is nonetheless an important symbol of the blending of art, science, and the sun: three iconic institutions in human history. As the artist herself put it, “Solar Illumination I: The Evolution of Language” links the past with the future by exploring the first writings of humankind; at the same time the art incorporates the newest applications of solar and LED technologies.”

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Posted on January 12th in Solar News by Dan.