Sol Grotto - Berkeley, CA - Abstract Public Sculptures on Waymarking.com

Sol Grotto is a contemporary take on a grotto or Thoreau's cabin–a spartan retreat that is a space of solitude and close to nature–where one is presented with a mediated experience of water, coolness and light. The Sol Grotto also explores Solyndra's role as a company S#@t Out of Luck. 1,368 of the 24 million high tech glass tubes destined to be destroyed as a casualty of the bankruptcy, are used in the installation. The tube's original role as a light concentrating element is extended to transmit cool air into the space via the Venturi effect, to amplify sounds from the adjacent waterfall via the vibrations of the tubes cantilevering over the creek, and to create distorted views of the garden. The form of the electric blue array evokes Plato's Allegory of the Cave where shadows, light and sounds call reality into question.

Sol Grotto has attracted some political controversy from detractors of the failed Solyndra Corporartion.

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