I attended an art sale at the Lee Hansley gallery in downtown Raleigh March 7 to benefit the light wall sculpture at D.H. Hill Library. The light wall sculpture, originally by the late artist Joe Cox, is in disrepair and not functioning.

It is a giant black-metal sculpture that is about 30 feet long by four feet tall and reflects colored lights onto Hillsborough Street. It is located behind the circulation desk next to the back elevators.

“The Color Wall should shine brightly forever,” said James Holbert, a senior in math, who attended the charity. “It should be expanded to cover the entire side of the library.” As such, Holbert said he has already contributed to the charity, which is set up to receive donations.

An article on the library’s Web site said the charity fund was set up by the blog “Good Night Raleigh!” and Friends of the Library. The campus contact for the project is Karl Larson in the College of Design.

The sculpture was originally installed in 1972 and represents the intersection of engineering and beauty, which are the two cornerstones of this school, representing the College of Engineering and Design, respectively. The article for the library’s Web site stated that a mere $6,000 is all that is needed to fix the sculpture.

The charity’s efforts to fix the light wall are validated and people associated with this school should attend to the problem as soon as possible. Having a giant sculpture around is wonderful, but only so long as it is functioning. If it is just a drab hunk of metal, that is one thing, but if it is a drab hunk of metal that could be much better than it is, students must work to fix it. Students must do their part to fix the Color Wall.

Funds from students and faculty should only be taken voluntarily because the gravity of the situation doesn’t necessitate mandatory measures.

As such, the problem the charity encounters is how to complete such a problem. If everyone says someone else will complete the project, no one will complete the project.

The Color Wall serves as much as a promotion for the library as it does in serving as a beacon for Hillsborough Street.

I picture people talking about the light wall and showing it off to their parents and family. The meaning of the sculpture as a combination of mechanical ability with design sense is obvious, but not the point of the project. Rather, I imagine it to simply be a beautiful sculpture. One could compare it to the Wolf Ears sound sculpture in front of the library, which represents a similar meeting of mechanical ingenuity and playful application of sitting in the seats across the library’s courtyard.

The sculpture inspires me in a number of ways. Throughout this school year, I have written columns celebrating diversity, celebrating the D.H. Hill Library and its diversity. The rainbow of the active sculpture represents the diversity of the school.

The Color Wall is long and rectangular, therefore representing the books on the shelf and the joy of taking a book off the shelf. Finally, the sculpture is kinetic, which means it is constantly in motion when it is activated.

Constant motion: there is no better metaphor for the library or this great school.