Changes downplay green and yellow

The sculpture in Parker Plaza at Oregon State University formerly displayed all the colors of the rainbow, depending on the angle and time at which it was viewed. Now, to avoid plugging the University of Oregon Ducks, the green and yellow rays of that rainbow have been muted.

When New York City artist Dennis Oppenheim initially designed the 40-foot aluminum football that greets Reser Stadium visitors, he wanted the sculpture to continuously revolve, reflecting the dance-like nature of the sport.

“It’s almost like choreography. It’s movement across the field,” said Oppenheim, 67.

Executing this vision proved too expensive, so Oppenheim found a way to create movement through color.

The sculpture, called “Electric Field,” contains a series of X’s and triangles, representative of athletes in a generic football play. These symbols are illuminated by energy-efficient LED lights.

Oppenheim worked with Foress Signs of Albany to create acrylic covers for the lights made of a new material called “chameleon plastic,” which was developed by Acrylite.

Farra Snook, Foress owner, said Acrylite won’t reveal exactly how the product works. He suspects, however, that the manufacturer found a way to synthetically create Alexandrite, a gemstone with color-changing properties.

Snook suspects Acrylite then grinds this substance down and uses it to treat plastics.

“Electric Field” works like a prism, refracting light and picking up colors around the sculpture, Snook said. Because there are lots of trees near Parker Plaza, the X’s and triangles often appeared more green and yellow than other colors.

This didn’t sit well with Beavers fans, who don’t generally like seeing the Ducks’ colors on campus.

OSU got complaints from alumni and university employees about the preponderance of green and yellow, and decided the sculpture needed to be altered, according to Steve Fenk, media relations director for the athletics department.

Oppenheim and Snook agreed to cover the “quite expensive” cost of modifying the acrylic panels on the sculpture to limit the colors it refracts.

“When they made all the commotion, we were a little upset because we thought we hadn’t picked any specific colors,” Oppenheim said.

Since Corvallis residents have to live with the sculpture, Oppenheim said he’s happy if locals are.

“It doesn’t hurt the artwork a great deal (to block green and yellow), but it would have been better if it was the whole rainbow of colors,” he said.

Foress replaced the panels last week, after installing filters that minimize the refraction of greens and yellows.

When the sculpture isn’t lit, the X’s appear various shades of orange, and the triangles look black. When illuminated, the symbols appear blue, red, white, turquoise, burgundy — pretty much any hue except those associated with the Ducks.

At tonight’s season-opening home game, Beavers fans can see Oppenheim’s modified creation for themselves.

“This aspect of color kind of slid by me in terms of how concerned about it they were,” said Oppenheim, noting that a New Yorker such as himself doesn’t fully appreciate the athletics rivalry between OSU and UO. He said he’s looking forward to visiting campus and seeing the adapted “Electric Field” this fall or winter.

At a glance

The 2006 OSU football season begins tonight at 7 with a home game against Eastern Washington University.

See “Game Day” in today’s paper for a complete preview of tonight’s contest.