Sun Boxes installation at Mizzou marks fall equinox
A calming tone echoed across parts of Mizzou campus on Tuesday, and it came from a scattered field of wooden speaker boxes.
These "Sun Boxes" are a collection of solar-powered boxes that play sounds with the sunlight, timed to the fall equinox. The notes change when you walk between the boxes and shadows fall over their solar panels, causing sounds to drift in and out.
The artist behind the project wanted to make something for passersby to hear and unwind.
"Sun Boxes is a great kind of oasis, maybe in a way that you can kind of come and just listen and maybe even, for just a second, forget about all the things that you're doing in your life and just breathe, feel present," Craig Colorusso said. "Maybe come and unravel."
Take a listen to the Sun Boxes:
"Once I started making work outside, I realized that it's a whole different ballgame out here," Craig said. "And there are different rules, different regulations, different systems to be part of. And so, you know, equinoxes and solstices are things that are older than all of us, happening. And it's actually quite an honor to be part of it."
The Sun Boxes weren't the only installation on campus on Tuesday. Artist Raven Smith, who is pursuing a master's degree in textile and apparel management at Mizzou, created a companion project called "Reflections," designed to bring a tactile element to the experience.
"So, in conjunction to the boxes, I really wanted to offer an immersive experience to where individuals could not only experience the sound and the sight of the sound boxes, but also experience something tactile so that they can touch it," Smith said. "They can feel it as they are walking to their next destination."
The piece is built around four parts, each one tied to one of the university's core pillars.
"So we have four parts of the installation," Smith said. "All four coincide with the university's pillars of respect, responsibility, discovery, and excellence."
The gloomy start to the day didn't deter people from enjoying the sounds.
"It's very peaceful and calming," Columbia resident Nicole Overeem said. "It allows you to just kind of go drift with the sounds and to your own thoughts and the occasion of it being the fall equinox."
The Sun Boxes will remain on campus through the equinox, giving students and the community a limited window to walk through the installation before it comes down.
