On Again; Off Again: DH Hill Library’s ‘Color Wall’
How can one describe NC State’s “Color Wall”? To me, this unique kinetic sculpture is an exuberant symphony in light. Vertical patterns of color slowly and methodically undulate, everchanging, across a white background divided by slender black metal vanes. The 12′ x 36′ mural projects from behind a glass wall on the first floor of the DH Hill Library book tower, facing Hillsboro St. The color and light display, which is intended for viewing at night, is an incredible sight to behold. I was a student at NC State when the Color Wall was installed in 1972, and for me it was love at first sight. Many times a couple friends and I would sit in our parked car in the bank parking lot across the street, transfixed and mesmerized by the stunning display of color.
The “Color Wall” was the creation of Joe Cox, a Raleigh artist and faculty member in the College of Design (1954-1980). Known primarily for his painting, his field of expertise was in exploring the artistic application of light and color. The sculpture had been commissioned by Chancellor John T. Caldwell and was installed in the newly completed DH Hill Library book tower in 1972. While its concept was genius, its execution was technically quite simple. A 90 watt light bulb casts its light through a colored gel affixed to its housing. There are 23 bulbs. The patterns of hundreds of vertical bands of multicolored light are created when the beams pass over each other and against dozens of fixed, black metal vanes. The entire display was orchestrated by a mechanical system of switches and gears which Cox himself fabricated.
I remember that a viewing of the Color Wall was often an on again, off again proposition, as the mechanical elements of the switching system were given to frequent malfunctions.  More than once I would tell a friend about it with great enthusiam, only to hear later from the disappointed friend: “It wasn’t working.” As I recall, the Color Wall did not function at all for the entire decade of the 1990s. By 2003 an effort was initiated to restore and bring the Color Wall back to life, and by 2005 the switch had been turned back on.
Earlier this year I described to a friend the fantastic (some would say ‘psychedelic’) nighttime display of color and light on Hillsboro St. As he had never heard of the Color Wall, he went over to investigate. The next day he reported he had discovered the light sculpture was, sadly, again not functioning. Upon further inquiry, I found out that the mechanical switching system that operates the lights had suffered a total breakdown, and is irreparable. Given the current situation with the state budget, restoration through public funds is, for the foreseeable future, unlikely. So is this the final curtain for the Color Wall? – perhaps the most significant work of 20th century public art in Raleigh. Is the Color Wall “off again” ? Or will we be able to switch it back on again? — and this time permanently.
This is how the “Color Wall” looks today. Where’s all the color?
05/18/2009
Thank you for a really interesting post! I went to NC State from 1996-2000 and always thought this was just a view of the back of a weird catalog or something like that. Who knew!
05/18/2009
Great post. “On again off again” is certainly the best way to describe it over the years. I suppose whatever switching mechanism it had that was made in the 70s would be primitive and subject to constant repair. It would be awesome if a benefactor could buy a more reliable modern switch for it today.
With the oncoming renovation of Hillsborough Street, it would be great to have such interesting public art back and running again!
05/18/2009
I’ll chip in fifty bucks towards the repair.
05/18/2009
You would think NC State would know an electical engineer that could repair this system – or upgrade it to something digital. I think Joe Cox was Raleigh’s greatest artist and this work definitely improves the appeal of the library building. Fix it!
05/19/2009
I came to Raleigh in 1979 so I, too, have seen the on-again-off-again status of the Color Wall. I’m with Van Alston — I’ll chip in some money towards repair. And like Mr. Leebowitz, certainly there is an electrical engineer, possibly on the NCSU campus, who could take on the repair of this system as a project.
Who do we contact?
Thanks for the post Raleigh Boy
05/19/2009
Thanks to everyone who has commented on this post. I appreciate the compliments too! It is heartening to see so much interest in Joe’s innovative kinetic light sculpture and the prospect of its restoration.
There have been some astute observations made here by the commenters. A working Color Wall would definitely be a major contribution to a renovated Hillsboro St. It would enhance not only the street, but the rather ordinary looking library building itself. As to the broken down switching mechanism: a modern, digital, computerized system is indeed the answer. And, moreover, the Color Wall is the most visible element of the legacy Joe Cox has left to us, not only to NC State, but to all citizens of Raleigh.
Readers will be happy to know that we at Goodnight Raleigh! are currently engaged in the early stages of an effort to restore Joe Cox’s Color Wall. The comments here have touched on many points of that effort. Watch for an announcement on the site soon. With the support of our readers, the Color Wall will once again be “on again!”
05/19/2009
I would chip in to get this thing working again. There was also a Joe Cox color light sculpture in the CCB (SunTrust) building in Durham as of a few years ago, working to a minor extent but mostly in disrepair. Here’s hoping that gets fixed too. Does anyone know if his color sculpture in Lumberton is still there?
05/20/2009
Richard B. — Thanks for your support. A color wall by Joe Cox, very similar to the one at DH Hill, was installed in the Southern National Bank in Lumberton in 1966. Another light sculpture by Cox was installed in the ceiling of of the CCB building in Durham in 1967. An observer noted in 1995: “Both the Lumberton mural and the Durham ceiling are in regular operation. …when I saw the ceiling in Durham the colors were rather pallid; many of the lights had burned out and were awaiting replacement… As of this date [1995] the Raleigh mural is awaiting repairs.” But that was 14 years ago.
05/20/2009
Count me in for a contribution.
05/20/2009
I am a friend of the engineer that produced the original controller for this piece. He was also a very close friend of Joe Cox
we would love to see this up and running again
how can I help?
05/20/2009
to David H. and all those willing to contribute to the Color Wall restoration effort — Thanks for your support! We are currently working out the details with DH Hill Library to set up a funding repository. I hope to make an announcement on this in a couple weeks, so please stay tuned!
Wayne — Thanks for your interest. I would like to speak with your friend at some point about his involvement with creating the original controller. I have seen it myself, and it is a fascinating piece of work! Once a digital system is installed, we plan to preserve the original device in the university archives and place it on display.
05/23/2009
way to go!it would be a major triumph to have the wall back up and running…..
hey this reminds me,do you guys know anything about the big black box of endlessly shifting light blobs that used to be at the art museum downtown?i always remember the docents saying that it would take 10,000 years before the same pattern repeated…how the heck did that thing work?
05/24/2009
I’m a EE grad from NCSU, too, let me know what I can do to help. A modern controller is definitely the way forward with the project, but restoring the old controller (or at least cleaning it up for display) would also be quite awesome!
05/25/2009
I have sent an email to the Friends of the Library Director. I am offering to help pay for the work, and I have a top-notch electrician who is interested in the project. If you are SERIOUSLY interested in helping me fundraise for this project, please send me email to the link provided, or mmstjohn [at] nc.rr.com. If the Friends of the Library approves, I’m ready to get a cost estimate and start knocking on doors!
05/28/2009
This sounds like an awesome project, and I would contribute if it would help lead to the restoration of this work. I attended NCSU from ’98-’02 and never even knew of this thing; I still work at the university, and on the occasions I’ve been on Hillsborough at night and have seen it in the past couple years, I’ve always wondered what the heck it was until now. It would definitely be a really cool addition to a revitalized Hillsborough street!
05/28/2009
Raleighboy: please email me your contact info: I repaired the electronics control for the wall and kept it going for several years in the ’80s. I replaced all the mechanical relays in the control with solid state relays because all mechanical ones kept wearing out. (They were also noisy..you could hear them all clicking when standing near the closet where they were located). So perhaps I can shed a bit of technical light on the project.
SW
05/28/2009
I’d be willing to chip in.
06/01/2009
I’ll throw some clams in for it. It should be done as a contribution ot the h-boro st renovations. Hopefully, public art will show its face in a few more spots during the rehab project.
Let’s not forget the great light sculpture around back in the foyer of the old library (now the special collections wing).
08/07/2009
Re. the light mural in the ceiling of the SunTrust (formerly CCB) building in downtown Durham, there is serious interest in restoring that piece, as well. Greenfire owns the building and is currently investigating that possibility.
I believe the light mural in Lumberton is no longer extant.
08/10/2009
I’ll chip in for the cause. In 1975 I took a class called “Design for Non-design Majors” (or something close to that). Prof. Cox guest lectured one of the classes. He brought in a small portable contraption with dimmers controlling several small spot lights. He used it to demonstrate how different colors mix. Quite memorable.
08/10/2009
My girlfriend Deborah and I visited Joe and Betsy Cox in their home on Trailwood Drive in about 1969. Joe demonstrated a “light organ” as he called it. I wonder if the light organ was kind of a design prototype for the color walls he did. As I recall, the device had a keyboard and would cast colors on the wall as you played it. Joe played a duet with Deborah — he played the light organ, and she played a harpsichord that Joe had built. Joe and Betsy were friends of my parents, Paul and Gladys Bredenberg. The Coxes were wonderful people, and they and their weimaraner dogs are some of my earliest and most vivid memories of adults. Joe gave me guitar lessons and used one of my kid-drawings in a TV show he did when I was about five or six. Here in my house I have one of his paintings, which I treasure.
08/22/2009
I would gladly contribute to restore the Joe Cox piece, however an agreement needs to be established with D.H. Hill to NEVER push the rolling book carts in front of this artwork again. That was an insult to its creator. It is beautiful when it is turned on. Joe Cox also designed a nice metal wall relief for the bank directly across the street from the old Darryl’s (which is now Red, Hot & Blue). The bank bricked over it. We should get it restored too.
10/29/2009
Nancy & Wayne Poole just advised me about the projected Restoration of the Color Wall in the D H Hill Library, which is very exciting.
My Uncle Joe Cox took me to see the Color Wall one evening, he explained that there is also an interesting phenomenon between the lighted areas effecting the color in the cast shadows.
My husband and I will definitely want to help with this project. Please keep us advised.
02/23/2010
I’m at student at state and often have wondered bout the strange black panels in the Library. I assumed it was some piece of art gone bad, like Harrelson Hall. I was impressed with the photos and the video on the colorwall.org. I’d love to see it functioning again.
07/18/2011
I used to work at d. h. hill from 1971-1974 and would like to get in touch with employees who were my friends such as linda osterman (who changed her name after remarrying)phyllis calhoun, mr. keener, melba, and a number of other people whose names I can’t remember now. Is there a service or a link in this site that would help?
Many thanks
07/18/2011
And yes, I was there when the first colorful panel was installed!
01/06/2017
what is the current state of this project? thanks…
09/15/2017
It’s Working! I just viewed it the other night —
Beautiful! :)
—E
02/27/2018
The color wall in lumberton is not lost and in good hands. I’m removing it next week as the building is being remodeled. It will shine again in the near future for everyone to see.
01/16/2019
Marshall Shepard
I read another posting about the color wall mural being in a building your family owns in Lumberton. Here on 2/27/18 you state the wall will be restored, has it been? Are we able to see today?? I was a student of Joe’s at then School of Design in the late 1970s and know well the display at DH Hill, a true marvel to me as a student. Would really love to see a functioning display again. All would benefit from the experience of such a living work of art!
Here’s hoping that you were able to save and restore. more than happy to contribute if needed.
Matt